Nigeria has been ranked 72nd out of 188 countries in the 2025 Government AI Readiness Index, placing it among the leading nations in Sub-Saharan Africa when it comes to preparedness for artificial intelligence adoption in public service delivery.
The index, released by Oxford Insights, assessed 195 governments using 69 indicators across key areas including policy capacity, governance, AI infrastructure, public sector adoption, development and diffusion, and resilience.
The rankings evaluate how ready governments are to deploy artificial intelligence to improve public services.
Within Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria placed fourth, behind Kenya (65th), South Africa (67th) and Mauritius (71st).
Overall, ten African countries made it into the global top 100.
Oxford Insights
Oxford Insights described Nigeria as “amongst the highest ranking countries globally from the continent,” noting that recent policy reforms and increased investment in the local AI sector are beginning to show results.
The report highlighted Nigeria’s strong showing in specific areas, ranking 35th globally in policy capacity and 49th in development and diffusion.
According to the report, these scores reflect a growing AI ecosystem, a larger pool of skilled talent and deliberate efforts to move from policy planning to real-world implementation.
Nigeria AI Scaling Hub
Nigeria’s launch of the Nigeria AI Scaling Hub was cited as a key step toward integrating AI into government systems.
Despite the positive ranking, the report noted ongoing challenges common across the region, including gaps in AI infrastructure, limited adoption within the public sector, and weaknesses in digital and energy systems.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranked last among nine global regions, with an average score of 28.04, indicating that while Nigeria performs relatively well compared to its regional peers, significant structural hurdles remain.
Nigeria’s AI drive has also gained renewed political support.
Speaking at the 50th Convocation Ceremony of the University of Jos on January 7, 2026, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani announced the establishment of a National AI Centre of Excellence on the university’s campus.
Tijani said the initiative reflects Nigeria’s resolve not to remain “a passive consumer of artificial intelligence technologies or a rule-taker in emerging global AI governance frameworks.”
He added that Nigeria’s large population gives it a natural advantage, stressing that local universities must lead research using locally relevant data rather than relying solely on foreign-trained models.
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