Egypt tops Africa in AI readiness, ranks 51st globally

Nora Abdelhamid , Sunday 11 Jan 2026

Egypt ranked first in Africa and 51st globally out of 195 countries in the 2025 Government Artificial Intelligence (AI) Readiness Index published by Oxford Insights, scoring 57.5 points, according to a statement by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) on Saturday.

The ranking marks an improvement of 14 places from 2024, when Egypt placed 65th out of 188 countries with a score of 55.6. Egypt also ranked fourth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, behind Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the UAE.

The Oxford Insights index, published annually since 2017, assesses governments’ readiness to adopt and deploy AI using 69 indicators across six pillars: Policy Capacity, Governance, AI Infrastructure, Public Sector Adoption, Development and Diffusion, and Resilience.

Egypt ranked first globally in the Policy Capacity pillar, scoring 100 points, tying with the United Kingdom, Serbia, and Australia. It scored 46.06 in AI Infrastructure, 62.5 in Governance, 60.07 in Public Sector Adoption, 45.41 in Development and Diffusion, and 62.81 in Resilience.

Oxford Insights said countries such as Egypt are expanding the use of AI across national priorities while shaping policies to strengthen domestic AI ecosystems, noting that gaps in digital infrastructure and talent development remain challenges in some contexts.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the global AI market is expected to reach $4.8 trillion by 2033, accounting for 29 percent of the global market, up from $189 billion, or 7 percent, in 2023.

MCIT Minister Amr Talaat attributed Egypt’s performance to the government’s efforts to integrate AI into public services and to the National Council for Artificial Intelligence’s second National AI Strategy for 2025–2030, launched last year.

The strategy aims to accelerate digital transformation, support economic and social development, and position Egypt as a regional AI hub. It focuses on data governance, expanding AI applications in sectors such as healthcare and justice, and building human capital, including training 30,000 AI specialists by 2030. The plan also targets raising AI’s contribution to GDP to 7.7 percent by 2030 and expanding AI literacy among government employees and the public.

Talaat also said Egypt ranked among the top 12 countries globally in the International Telecommunication Union’s 2024 Global Cybersecurity Index, with a score between 95 and 100.