This is a combination of English signage and fluency of people on the street. It's not a scientific ranking, but just my experiences while roaming around in the city doing basic tasks like eating, riding public transportation, and going to tourist sites.
1. London, United Kingdom
2. Singapore, Singapore
3. Mumbai, India
4. Hong Kong, Hong Kong
5. Macau, Macau
6. Jerusalem, Israel
7. Amman, Jordan
8. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
9. Seoul, South Korea
10. Penang, Malaysia
11. Johor Bahru, Malaysia
12. Taipei, Taiwan
13. Paris, France
14. Bangkok, Thailand
15. Tel Aviv, Israel
16. Tokyo, Japan
London isn't really a fair comparison. Singapore's primary language is English and everyone I encountered was fluent. The Mumbai airport probably isn't a very good sample of Mumbai as a whole, but I must admit everyone inside spoke proper English. Those three were simple for English speakers.
Hong Kong and Macau has English signage everywhere but not everyone spoke it on the street. Still, it wasn't much of an issue.
Everyone in Jerusalem and Amman seemed to speak some English and signs were pretty good although there were a few places with only Hebrew or Arabic.
Malaysia had broken English everywhere. Signs and spoken English were there, but often difficult to use.
Number 12 through 14 don't have much English. The airports and train stations do, but that's about it.
Tel Aviv is a nightmare. Street spellings change by the block for no reason. Most everything is in Hebrew. Everyone assumes you speak Hebrew and I had no luck finding English-speaking street vendors. I'm sure hotels speak English, but my cab drivers didn't and no one at the train stations did either. This was by far the most surprising one for me. People immigrated here from all over the world, but I had just expected more English since it was a newer country. The Israeli people are proud of Hebrew though, so that may have had something to do with it.
In Tokyo, outside of the airport, good luck. Bring a translator. Even many tourist sites are in Japanese only.
1. London, United Kingdom
2. Singapore, Singapore
3. Mumbai, India
4. Hong Kong, Hong Kong
5. Macau, Macau
6. Jerusalem, Israel
7. Amman, Jordan
8. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
9. Seoul, South Korea
10. Penang, Malaysia
11. Johor Bahru, Malaysia
12. Taipei, Taiwan
13. Paris, France
14. Bangkok, Thailand
15. Tel Aviv, Israel
16. Tokyo, Japan
London isn't really a fair comparison. Singapore's primary language is English and everyone I encountered was fluent. The Mumbai airport probably isn't a very good sample of Mumbai as a whole, but I must admit everyone inside spoke proper English. Those three were simple for English speakers.
Hong Kong and Macau has English signage everywhere but not everyone spoke it on the street. Still, it wasn't much of an issue.
Everyone in Jerusalem and Amman seemed to speak some English and signs were pretty good although there were a few places with only Hebrew or Arabic.
Malaysia had broken English everywhere. Signs and spoken English were there, but often difficult to use.
Number 12 through 14 don't have much English. The airports and train stations do, but that's about it.
Tel Aviv is a nightmare. Street spellings change by the block for no reason. Most everything is in Hebrew. Everyone assumes you speak Hebrew and I had no luck finding English-speaking street vendors. I'm sure hotels speak English, but my cab drivers didn't and no one at the train stations did either. This was by far the most surprising one for me. People immigrated here from all over the world, but I had just expected more English since it was a newer country. The Israeli people are proud of Hebrew though, so that may have had something to do with it.
In Tokyo, outside of the airport, good luck. Bring a translator. Even many tourist sites are in Japanese only.
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