Which element has the highest electronegativity?

Fluorine sits at the top of the electronegativity scale because it pulls shared electrons toward itself more strongly than any other element. Its Pauling electronegativity is 3.98, the highest value assigned to an element. That extreme reactivity is why fluorine is difficult to handle and is found in compounds rather than as a free element in nature. Fluorine chemistry is important in industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and materials science.