By Deborah Nnamdi
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, according to Oxford Insights. The annual index assesses governments’ preparedness to implement artificial intelligence in public service using 69 indicators across six pillars, including policy capacity, governance, AI infrastructure, public sector adoption, development and diffusion, and resilience.
Within Africa, Nigeria ranked fourth, behind Kenya (65th), South Africa (67th), and Mauritius (71st). Ten African countries made the global top 100, reflecting uneven but growing AI adoption across the continent. The report described Nigeria as “amongst the highest ranking countries globally from the continent,” highlighting strong performance in policy capacity (35th globally) and development and diffusion (49th globally), driven by increased domestic AI investment and the launch of detailed AI policy documents.
The report also noted Nigeria’s efforts to move from strategy to implementation, citing the launch of the Nigeria AI Scaling Hub to operationalize AI in public systems. However, persistent gaps remain, including limited public sector adoption, infrastructure constraints, and foundational digital and energy challenges.
In a push to strengthen local AI capacity, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, announced the launch of a National AI Centre of Excellence at the University of Jos, emphasizing the importance of locally relevant research and Nigeria’s role in shaping global AI governance.
The index underscores Nigeria’s growing AI ecosystem and ambition, but also highlights the need to translate policy initiatives into widespread government application to improve future rankings.
