Yes. A peer-reviewed study using India Human Development Survey data (Azam, Chin and Prakash, 2013) found that, after controlling for age, social group, schooling, geography and ability, men who speak fluent English earn on average 34% more per hour than men who speak none, and those who speak a little English earn 13% more. For women, the fluency premium was 22%. The return to fluent English was comparable to completing secondary school.
What did the research find?
Economists Mehtabul Azam, Aimee Chin and Nishith Prakash used individual-level data from the 2005 India Human Development Survey to measure how English-speaking ability relates to wages, published in Economic Development and Cultural Change in 2013. Crucially, they controlled for other factors that raise earnings, including age, social group, years of schooling, geography and proxies for ability.
Their headline result: hourly wages were on average 34% higher for men who speak fluent English and 13% higher for men who speak a little English, compared with men who speak none. For women, the premium for fluent English was 22%. The authors note that the return to fluent English is as large as the return to completing secondary school, and about half the return to completing a bachelor’s degree.
Does the premium apply to everyone equally?
No. The study found considerable variation: returns to English were higher for older and more experienced workers and for more educated workers. In other words, English multiplies the value of the skills and experience you already have. For a mid-career professional, fluency is less about getting a first job than about being able to use the expertise you already possess at full value.
Why does English still matter so much in India?
Because it remains the language of senior work: client meetings, leadership communication, global teams, and most professional documentation. Yet only a small minority of Indians report speaking it. In a Lok Foundation–Oxford University survey administered by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy in 2019, just 6% of respondents said they could speak English. Scarcity raises the value of the skill.
Employers value it too. LinkedIn, analysing its member data in 2024, ranked communication as the most in-demand skill.
What is the difference between “a little” and “fluent”?
In the study, the gap between speaking a little English and speaking it fluently was worth over 20 percentage points in hourly wages for men. Many professionals sit in exactly that gap: they understand English well and can get by, but they are not yet fluent speakers. On the CEFR scale, that is often the distance between B1 and B2 or C1.
What should you take from this?
That investing in spoken English is not a soft expense. The returns have been measured, and they are comparable to formal education. The practical question is how to close the gap efficiently: measure where you stand, set a realistic target, and train the specific skills that stand between the two.
Key takeaways
- Fluent English was linked to 34% higher hourly wages for men in India, and 22% for women.
- Speaking a little English was linked to a 13% premium; fluency roughly adds another 20 points.
- The premium is larger for more experienced and educated workers.
- Only 6% of respondents in a 2019 survey said they could speak English.
Questions people ask
Does English fluency increase salary in India?
Yes. Research using India Human Development Survey data found men fluent in English earn about 34% more per hour than men who speak none, and women about 22% more, after controlling for education and other factors.
How many Indians speak English?
In a 2019 Lok Foundation–Oxford University survey administered by CMIE, 6% of respondents said they could speak English.
References
- Azam, M., Chin, A., & Prakash, N. (2013). The returns to English-language skills in India. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 61(2), 335–367.
- Lok Foundation–Oxford University survey, administered by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (2019).
- LinkedIn (2024). Most in-demand skills.
Find out where you stand.
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