Nigeria has placed 72nd out of 188 countries in the 2025 Government AI Readiness Index, earning a spot among the leading performers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The yearly index released by Oxford Insights evaluated 195 governments based on 69 indicators grouped under six pillars: policy capacity, governance, AI infrastructure, public sector adoption, development and diffusion, and resilience.
The Oxford Insights AI Readiness Index measures how equipped governments are to deploy artificial intelligence in public service delivery, drawing on indicators covering policy capacity, infrastructure, governance, development, diffusion, and resilience.
How Nigeria Stacks Up Globally And Within Africa
Within Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria ranked fourth, trailing Kenya (65th), South Africa (67th), and Mauritius (71st), reinforcing its position as one of the region’s strongest AI-ready countries.
Overall, 10 African nations featured in the global top 100, reflecting steady but uneven advancement in artificial intelligence development across the continent.
Top 10 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
What The Report Says About Nigeria
The report characterised Nigeria as being “amongst the highest ranking countries globally from the continent”, noting that recent policy initiatives and sector investments are beginning to yield results.
“Nigeria — amongst the highest ranking countries globally from the continent — just stepped into the top 50 on Development and Diffusion (49th) and performed even better in policy capacity (coming 35th globally) following increased investment in its domestic AI sector, the launch of detailed AI policy documents and a stated intention to enhance efforts for international collaboration.”
This indicates that although Nigeria’s overall placement is 72nd, it recorded much stronger results in key areas, particularly Policy Capacity, where it ranked 35th globally, and Development and Diffusion, where it placed 49th worldwide.
These outcomes reflect the country’s expanding AI ecosystem, growing talent base, and recent government moves to formalise artificial intelligence policy frameworks.
The report also highlighted Nigeria’s transition from planning to execution, referencing the launch of the Nigeria AI Scaling Hub as evidence that the country is beginning to embed AI within public sector systems.
Strengths And Gaps
Despite gains in policy and innovation, the report identified ongoing challenges common across the region, including:
- Constraints in AI infrastructure
- Low levels of public sector adoption
- Gaps in core digital and energy infrastructure
Sub-Saharan Africa ranked last among nine global regions, with an average score of 28.04. This underscores that while Nigeria is outperforming many regional peers, its progress remains limited by broader structural issues.
Nigeria’s Drive To Build Local AI Capacity
Nigeria’s push to strengthen its AI ecosystem has also gained renewed political momentum.
On January 7, 2026, at the 50th Convocation Ceremony of the University of Jos, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, announced the establishment of a National AI Centre of Excellence within the university.
According to Tijani, the move signalled Nigeria’s resolve “not to remain a passive consumer of artificial intelligence technologies or a rule-taker in emerging global AI governance frameworks.”
“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 further stressed that Nigerian universities must spearhead research into locally relevant datasets and contextual intelligence, rather than depending solely on foreign-trained AI models.
The Bigger Picture
Overall, the index portrays Nigeria as a country with strong AI ambitions but inconsistent implementation. While progress is evident in policy formulation and ecosystem growth, limited adoption within the public sector remains a key bottleneck.
As more African countries roll out AI strategies and innovation hubs, the report suggests that Nigeria’s ability to convert policy goals into practical government use will determine whether it rises further in future global AI readiness rankings.