I've just come back from a two-week trip to the Philippines, where English is an official language along with the local Filipino language.
English was brought to the Philippines during the 1896-1946 American occupation and it still enjoys official status. This does not mean that everyone understands or speaks English, but it does mean that exposure to the language is so widespread that those who do speak it can communicate quite fluently. I was also impressed that people who had never stepped outside the Philippines were nevertheless fluent in English.
How can a nation acquire a second language so proficiently despite some claims that as many as 27.8 percent of Filipino school-age children either don't attend, or never finish, elementary school?