1. im, it's definitely one of the easiest languages to learn (I speak Korean, English, and some Japanese). The fact that there are no gender distinctions or honorifics contributes significantly to its ease.
2. The comparative ease also comes from the fact that, since it's the de facto lingua franca, you simply cannot avoid learning it. It's also easy to learn in terms of accessibility.

In my experience and what I heard from other people, yes
(but it's also from a european perspective)

At least thats what I've always heard from various sources during my 40'sh years on this earth (beginning from our english teacher while I was around 9 years old).