(123rf)

South Koreans scored 677 points on average in the Test of English for International Communication last year, ranking 16th out of 44 countries around the globe and fifth among its Asian peers, the Korea TOEIC Committee said Monday.

The latest figure is up two points from an average of 675 points in 2022.

The TOEIC exam assesses non-native speakers' English-language listening and reading proficiency, and test takers can get up to 990 points. It's widely used in Korea to gauge the English proficiency of job seekers.

The US-based test developer, Educational Testing Service, analyzed the scores of about 3.22 million people who took tests last year and found that Lebanon topped the list with an average score of 834, while Germany clinched second place with 819 points. Belgium came in third place with an average score of 784 points, followed by Costa Rica with 777 points and India with 776 points, according to the test administrator.

Jordan ranked third among Asian nations with an average of 702 points and Filipinos came in fourth with 690 points. Chinese test takers scored an average of 571 points, while Japanese and Taiwanese test takers earned 561 and 566 points, respectively.

Currently, more than 14,000 organizations across 160 countries use the US-based English language test to recruit, evaluate performance and enhance their employees' English skills.