China is Beating India in English speakers

Reading this article has given me even more confidence that i am doing busines in the correct country in the world. India Times reports already by population there are more people in china speaking english than in india.

The study estimates less than five per cent of the Indian population speaks English, which would mean that only about 55 million people in India will be fluent English speakers by 2010.

In comparison China adds 20 million English speakers each year as a result of new education policies that require English to be a compulsory subject in primary schools. According to an earlier British Council study, China had 200 million English users in 1995.

this makes me feel good for many reasons –

1 – often i am questioned / challenged why i do english websites in china – and that more people are having their english website work in india. that india has better english speakers, blah blah – now i will just refer to this article when i have those critics

2 – china still seems to me to be the economic powerhouse of this century. i have said many times how its almost frightening to think – if china makes everything, sells everything, and now speaks just like the western world….what is the requirement to need the west anymore…..domestic growth in china is still on the rise, and china is quickly learning from the mistakes of western businesses to its advantage.

3- i am a valuable part of the growth in china – again, i feel warm welcome in china overall. chinese people want to learn, to grow, and to embetter themselves. reading this article again – that schools in china are requiring more english classes, they are not just forced. i see so many young chinese that are yearning to learn english, and how the western culture thinks and operates. so many questions, so many note taking.

just imagine in 10 or 20 years from now, when the new generation of chinese are in the working world, building up businesses, that how much china will be different then it is today.

amazing…..but also (for usa, and the western worlds) scary and intimidating.