Nigeria has been ranked 72nd out of 188 countries in the 2025 Government AI Readiness Index, placing it among the top-performing nations in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The annual index, published by Oxford Insights, evaluates governments’ preparedness to implement artificial intelligence (AI) in public service delivery. It uses 69 indicators across six pillars: policy capacity, governance, AI infrastructure, public sector adoption, development and diffusion, and resilience.
How Nigeria compares
Within Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria ranked fourth, behind Kenya (65th), South Africa (67th), and Mauritius (71st). In total, 10 African countries made the global top 100, reflecting uneven but growing AI progress across the continent.
Top African countries by global ranking
- Kenya — 65th
- South Africa — 67th
- Mauritius — 71st
- Nigeria — 72nd
- Rwanda — 75th
- Ghana — 85th
- Morocco — 87th
- Algeria — 96th
- Senegal — 97th
- Tunisia — 99th
Nigeria’s strengths
The report highlighted Nigeria as “amongst the highest ranking countries globally from the continent”, citing recent policy actions and sectoral investment. Nigeria performed particularly well in Policy Capacity (35th globally) and Development and Diffusion (49th globally), reflecting its growing AI ecosystem, expanding talent pool, and increased government efforts to formalize AI policy.
The report also noted Nigeria’s shift from strategy to implementation, citing the launch of the Nigeria AI Scaling Hub, marking the country as one of the few in Africa beginning to operationalize AI within public systems.
Persistent challenges
Despite these gains, the report identified ongoing weaknesses:
- AI infrastructure constraints
- Limited public sector adoption
- Gaps in foundational digital and energy systems
Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole ranks 9th out of nine global regions, with an average score of 28.04, highlighting structural challenges that continue to limit Nigeria’s AI potential.
Nigeria’s push for local AI capacity
Nigeria’s AI ambitions have gained renewed political backing. On January 7, 2026, during the 50th Convocation Ceremony of the University of Jos, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, announced the launch of a National AI Centre of Excellence on the university campus.
Tijani emphasized that Nigeria seeks to be an active participant in global AI governance rather than a passive consumer. “AI is built on numbers, and Nigeria has the numbers. We are too big a country not to participate meaningfully in artificial intelligence,” he said. He added that Nigerian universities must focus on locally relevant datasets and contextual intelligence, rather than relying solely on imported AI models.
The bigger picture
Overall, the index presents Nigeria as a country with clear AI ambition but uneven execution. While policy design and ecosystem development are advancing, slower public sector adoption remains a critical gap.
As more African countries invest in AI strategies and innovation hubs, the report suggests that Nigeria’s ability to translate policy into widespread government use will be key to climbing higher in future global AI readiness rankings.
