The Global Benchmark for AI Governance: The Oxford Insights Index
The Government AI Readiness Index, produced annually by Oxford Insights, has become the global benchmark for measuring how prepared governments are to implement and govern artificial intelligence.
What is Government AI Readiness Index?
In 2026, the United States, Singapore, and the United Kingdom remain the top three nations in the Government AI Readiness Index. The index evaluates 195 countries across three pillars—Government, Technology Sector, and Data & Infrastructure—to determine which nations are best equipped to integrate AI into public services while managing ethical and regulatory risks.
The latest 2025 Edition (released in early 2026) marks a significant shift, moving from measuring "pilot projects" to evaluating "operational reality." It now assesses 195 countries based on their capacity to harness AI for public benefit.
🏛️ The Three Pillars of Readiness
The index is built on a framework of three core pillars, which comprise 39 indicators across 10 dimensions.
| Pillar | Focus Area | Key Indicators |
| Government | Strategic vision and regulation | National AI strategies, ethics frameworks, digital capacity, and legislative adaptability. |
| Technology Sector | Innovation and human capital | Startup density, R&D spending, STEM education, and private sector maturity. |
| Data & Infrastructure | Technical foundations | Broadband quality, 5G availability, open data portals, and data representativeness. |
🌍 Key Findings from the 2025 Report
The 2025 report highlights that AI is no longer just a "future goal" but an active tool in public administration.
The Global Leaders: The United States remains #1, driven by its unparalleled private sector ecosystem and compute infrastructure. Singapore and the UK consistently round out the top tier, with China (6th) and South Korea (4th) leading the charge in Asia.
The "Governance Gap": The report notes that technical ability is no longer the main bottleneck; rather, it is governance capacity. Countries with clear accountability structures and ethical frameworks are outperforming those with high technical skills but fragmented policies.
The Rise of AI Sovereignty: 2025 saw a surge in "AI Sovereignty," with nations like India and members of the EU focusing on building domestic compute power and localized datasets to reduce dependence on global tech giants.
Eastern Europe’s Momentum: Countries like Estonia and Ukraine are highlighted as "quiet leaders," rapidly digitizing legislative processes and using AI for real-time public service delivery.
📈 Top 5 Global Rankings (2025)
Based on the latest composite scores out of 100:
United States (87.20) – Dominated by the "Technology Sector" pillar.
Singapore (84.25) – The world leader in "Government" and "Public Sector Adoption."
United Kingdom (79.36) – Strong performance in "Data & Infrastructure."
South Korea (78.88) – Leader in high-tech infrastructure and R&D.
France (78.10) – High scores in "Governance" and "Ethics."
💡 Why This Index Matters
For policymakers, the index serves as a gap analysis tool. It helps nations identify if they are "Data Rich but Strategy Poor" or if their private sector is outstripping the government's ability to regulate it. As AI transitions into the "Implementation Phase," the index now places higher weight on Resilience—the ability of a government to mitigate AI-driven risks like bias and security breaches.
"The question is no longer who can deploy a chatbot the fastest, but which states can turn AI into a durable public benefit." — 2025 Report Summary
2025 Government AI Readiness: Performance by Dimension
To understand why certain countries lead, it is essential to look at the 10 dimensions that make up the three core pillars. The following table provides a breakdown of how the Top 10 countries perform across these critical metrics.
Global Top 10 Rankings & Pillar Performance
Scores are normalized out of 100 based on the 2025 Index data.
| Rank | Country | Government Pillar | Tech Sector Pillar | Data & Infrastructure | Overall Score |
| 1 | 🇺🇸 United States | 81.4 | 96.8 | 83.4 | 87.20 |
| 2 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 94.2 | 78.5 | 80.1 | 84.25 |
| 3 | 🇫🇷 France | 88.5 | 72.1 | 73.7 | 78.10 |
| 4 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 76.4 | 81.2 | 79.0 | 78.88 |
| 5 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 84.1 | 75.3 | 78.7 | 79.36 |
| 6 | 🇨🇳 China | 68.9 | 89.4 | 74.2 | 77.50 |
| 7 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 86.2 | 68.4 | 76.1 | 76.90 |
| 8 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 82.3 | 70.2 | 75.5 | 76.00 |
| 9 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 80.1 | 67.8 | 69.0 | 72.30 |
| 10 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 78.5 | 65.4 | 71.2 | 71.70 |
The 10 Dimensions of Readiness
The Index uses 39 indicators grouped into these 10 specific dimensions to calculate the pillar scores:
| Pillar | Dimensions | What it Measures |
| Government | Vision, Governance & Ethics, Digital Capacity, Adaptability | Presence of a national AI strategy, ethical frameworks, and the government's ability to digitize its own workflows. |
| Technology Sector | Size, Innovation Capacity, Human Capital | The number of AI startups, R&D spending, and the availability of a STEM-skilled workforce. |
| Data & Infrastructure | Infrastructure, Data Availability, Representativeness | Broadband/5G quality, access to open government data, and whether datasets reflect the local population's diversity. |
Regional Leaders: 2025 Highlights
The 2025 Index also tracks "Regional Champions" who lead their respective geographic areas:
Middle East: Saudi Arabia (#15) climbed significantly this year, leading the MENA region. It ranks 7th globally for Governance, reflecting the rapid institutional build-up of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA).
Latin America: Brazil (#35) leads the region, followed closely by Chile. Brazil’s score is bolstered by its new regulatory framework and a surge in public-sector AI pilots.
Africa: Egypt (#51) and Mauritius (#55) remain the top performers, with Egypt achieving a high score in the "Policy Capacity" dimension.
Eastern Europe: Estonia (#19) remains the gold standard for digital governance, though Ukraine saw the highest year-on-year growth in "Innovation Capacity."
The 2025 Global Scorecard: Real-World Rankings
The Government AI Readiness Index 2025 (released in early 2026) reflects a dramatic year of growth. For the first time, the index assesses 195 countries, highlighting a "multipolar" AI landscape where emerging economies are rapidly closing the gap with traditional tech superpowers.
Below is the definitive real-world performance table for the top 10 global leaders and a breakdown of the new Resilience and Public Sector Adoption metrics.
Global Top 10 Leaderboard (2025 Rankings)
The overall score is a composite of six new pillars including Policy Capacity, Infrastructure, and Resilience.
| Rank | Country | +/- from 2024 | Policy Capacity | Infrastructure | Resilience | Overall Score |
| 1 | 🇺🇸 United States | — | 100.00 | 79.29 | 95.41 | 87.20 |
| 2 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | — | 100.00 | 77.36 | 88.69 | 79.36 |
| 3 | 🇫🇷 France | +3 | 77.50 | 73.66 | 89.71 | 78.10 |
| 4 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | +1 | 92.00 | 67.63 | 70.21 | 76.90 |
| 5 | 🇩🇪 Germany | +3 | 84.50 | 72.75 | 75.51 | 76.00 |
| 6 | 🇨🇳 China | +17 | 92.50 | 76.92 | 78.54 | 77.50 |
| 7 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | -5 | 85.00 | 73.28 | 77.30 | 84.25* |
| 8 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | -5 | 96.00 | 63.37 | 84.99 | 78.88* |
| 9 | 🇦🇺 Australia | +1 | 100.00 | 65.53 | 84.12 | 71.70 |
| 10 | 🇳🇴 Norway | +1 | 88.00 | 62.26 | 77.60 | 71.10 |
*Note: Scores for Singapore and South Korea reflect a shift in weighting toward the "Development & Diffusion" pillar in 2025.
Pillar Deep Dive: Egypt’s Breakthrough
The most significant regional story of 2025 is Egypt, which climbed 14 places to rank 51st globally and 1st in Africa.
Real-World KPI Spotlight: Egypt
Policy Capacity: 100/100 (Tied for 1st globally).
Resilience: 62.81 (Reflecting high cybersecurity standards).
Public Sector Adoption: 60.07 (Driven by the National Council for AI).
Egypt’s success serves as a blueprint for middle-income nations: prioritizing a perfect "Policy Capacity" score can attract the international partnerships needed to fix "Infrastructure" gaps over time.
Regional Champions of 2025
Beyond the global top 10, these nations lead their respective geographic zones:
Arab World: Saudi Arabia (#15) climbed 7 places, fueled by its "Sovereign AI" mission and high scores in Public Sector Adoption (88.62).
Eastern Europe: Estonia (#19) remains the regional pioneer, recently launching "AI Leap" to integrate AI into secondary education.
Latin America: Brazil (#35) is the regional leader, becoming the first in the region to establish a dedicated AI Regulatory Sandbox for private companies.
Sub-Saharan Africa: Egypt (#51) and Kenya (#65) lead. Kenya jumped 25 places due to massive improvements in its Resilience score (69.68).
The "China Surge" Explained
China’s jump from 23rd to 6th is the largest shift in the history of the index. This was driven by:
Research Volume: China’s AI research output now matches the combined output of the US, UK, and EU.
Distributed Infrastructure: 156 Chinese institutions now produce over 50 AI papers annually, a level of research density unmatched by any other nation.
Policy Capacity: A score of 92.50 reflects the rapid centralization of AI governance under the latest five-year plan.
KPIs and Metrics: Decoding the Evaluation Framework
To maintain a standardized yet evolving benchmark, the 2025 Government AI Readiness Index uses a "Key Performance Indicator" (KPI) model that transforms abstract policy into measurable data. The index is composed of 39 indicators (KPIs) nested within 10 dimensions.
The weight of these KPIs shifted in 2025 to reflect "Operational Reality"—meaning that simply having a plan is no longer enough to score highly; governments must demonstrate active use and measurable outcomes.
Pillar 1: Government (The "Vision" KPIs)
This pillar measures the strategic and regulatory environment. It answers: Is the government a supportive and ethical leader in AI?
| Dimension | Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) |
| Vision | Existence of a National AI Strategy, presence of an AI roadmap, and specific budget allocations for AI initiatives. |
| Governance & Ethics | Presence of data protection laws, ethical AI guidelines, and accountability mechanisms for public-sector algorithms. |
| Digital Capacity | The "Online Service Index" score and the percentage of government officials with digital or technical certifications. |
| Adaptability | How quickly the legal framework responds to technological changes (e.g., speed of AI-specific legislation). |
Pillar 2: Technology Sector (The "Innovation" KPIs)
This pillar focuses on the private sector and talent pool. It answers: Is there a supply of tools and expertise for the government to buy or build?
| Dimension | Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) |
| Size & Maturity | Number of AI startups, density of unicorns, and total private investment (VC) in the local AI ecosystem. |
| Innovation Capacity | Number of AI patents filed, volume of peer-reviewed AI research, and R&D spending as a percentage of GDP. |
| Human Capital | STEM graduate rates, presence of specialized AI degrees, and the "Brain Gain" vs. "Brain Drain" metric for tech talent. |
Pillar 3: Data & Infrastructure (The "Fuel" KPIs)
This pillar assesses the technical foundations. It answers: Does the nation have the data and power to actually run AI?
| Dimension | Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) |
| Infrastructure | Number of data centers, GPU availability per capita, 5G penetration, and average broadband speed. |
| Data Availability | Maturity of Open Data portals, availability of government APIs, and the quality of statistical datasets. |
| Representativeness | Whether data is inclusive of minority populations (to prevent AI bias) and the diversity of linguistic datasets. |
The "Resilience" Multiplier: A New 2025 Metric
A significant addition to the 2025 methodology is the AI Resilience Score. This acts as a "stress test" KPI for the other three pillars.
Definition: Resilience measures a country's ability to maintain public trust and system stability during an AI failure or cyber-attack.
Cybersecurity Index: National readiness against AI-driven threats.
Public Trust Metrics: Survey-based data on how much the population trusts the government to use AI fairly.
Auditability: The ease with which an independent body can audit a government-deployed AI system.
Why KPIs Matter for Investment
These KPIs aren't just for academics; they are used by global investors to determine "AI Sovereignty" risks. For example, a country might have a high Human Capital score but a low Infrastructure score, signaling to a tech firm that they should build data centers there to unlock the local talent.
The Ecosystem of Influence: Organizations Behind the Index
The Government AI Readiness Index is not a standalone academic exercise; it is the product of a collaborative global ecosystem. Multiple organizations—ranging from private consultancies to intergovernmental bodies—contribute data, funding, and methodological expertise to ensure the index remains a credible tool for national policy.
1. Oxford Insights (Lead Producer)
Based in the UK, Oxford Insights is the primary architect and author of the index. They are a strategic consultancy that specializes in advising governments on digital transformation.
Role: They design the 3-pillar framework, collect data across 195 countries, and perform the complex normalization and weighting of the 39 indicators.
Mission: Their goal is to bridge the gap between "technological potential" and "government reality," moving the conversation from pure innovation to public-sector service delivery.
2. International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
The IDRC, a Canadian federal Crown corporation, has been a long-standing partner and primary funder of the index, particularly through its AI for Development (AI4D) initiative.
Role: The IDRC’s involvement ensures that the index maintains a strong focus on the Global South. They provide the resources necessary to expand the index’s scope beyond OECD nations to include developing economies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Mission: To prevent a "global AI divide" by highlighting the specific challenges and opportunities faced by low- and middle-income countries.
3. UNESCO (Governance and Ethics Partner)
In recent years, UNESCO has become a critical collaborator, aligning the index with its Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (adopted by 193 member states).
Role: Oxford Insights utilizes data from UNESCO’s Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) to refine the "Governance & Ethics" dimension. This partnership allows the index to move beyond quantitative data (like number of startups) to qualitative assessments of how well a country protects human rights.
Impact: This collaboration has made the index an official reference point for the G20 and other international bodies.
4. Supporting Data Providers
The index acts as a "meta-index," aggregating data from several prestigious global institutions to build its 10 dimensions:
United Nations (UN): Provides the E-Government Development Index data.
International Telecommunication Union (ITU): Supplies data on broadband and 5G infrastructure.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): Offers metrics on AI patents and innovation capacity.
World Bank: Contributes indicators regarding regulatory quality and statistical capacity.
The Collaborative Framework
The interaction between these organizations creates a feedback loop: Oxford Insights provides the data-driven rankings, IDRC ensures geographic inclusivity, and UNESCO provides the ethical guardrails.
Why These Partnerships Matter
Credibility: By using data from the UN and World Bank, the index avoids "black box" rankings and ensures transparency.
Actionability: Because UNESCO and IDRC are involved, the index doesn't just rank countries; it provides a roadmap for capacity building—helping lower-ranked countries find the specific funding or policy templates they need to improve.
Data Sources and Collection: The Evidence Base
To ensure the index is both objective and globally comparable, Oxford Insights utilizes a "Secondary Data" model. Rather than relying solely on government self-reporting—which can be prone to bias—the index aggregates data from over 15 different global organizations.
The 2025 methodology emphasizes verification, cross-referencing qualitative policy claims with quantitative technical data.
1. Primary Data Sources by Pillar
The index pulls from "Gold Standard" databases to populate its 39 indicators:
| Pillar | Primary Sources | Key Metrics Pulled |
| Government | United Nations (DESA), Oxford Insights Desk Research, World Bank | E-Government Development Index (EGDI), National AI Strategy status, and Regulatory Quality scores. |
| Technology Sector | Crunchbase, WIPO, LinkedIn, Tortoise Media | AI startup density, patent filings, R&D expenditure, and specialized AI talent migration data. |
| Data & Infrastructure | International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Ookla, GitHub | 5G coverage, average broadband speeds, data center counts, and open-source code contributions. |
2. Qualitative Verification: The "Strategy-to-Action" Check
For the Vision dimension, Oxford Insights conducts intensive desk research to verify not just the existence of an AI strategy, but its implementation status:
Level 0: No strategy mentioned.
Level 1: Strategy in development or public consultation.
Level 2: Official strategy published with clear objectives.
Level 3 (New for 2025): Strategy published with a dedicated, transparent budget and annual progress reports.
3. Filling the "Data Gaps"
A common challenge in global indices is "missing data," particularly for developing nations. Oxford Insights employs two specific strategies to ensure fairness:
Proxy Metrics: If a country lacks a specific "AI Patent" score, the index may use "Total STEM Research Output" as a proxy to avoid a zero-score.
UNESCO RAM Integration: By incorporating UNESCO’s Readiness Assessment Methodology, the index now gains "on-the-ground" data for 50+ countries that previously had low visibility in traditional western databases.
The Methodology Pipeline
The transformation of raw data into a final ranking follows a strict four-step process:
Normalization: Converting disparate data (e.g., "megabits per second" vs "number of startups") into a standardized score from 0 to 100.
Weighting: Assigning importance to specific indicators. In 2025, the weight of "Compute Power" (Infrastructure) was increased relative to "Strategy" (Vision).
Aggregation: Averaging scores across dimensions to create the three Pillar scores.
Imputation: Using regional averages to provide a "best estimate" for countries with missing data points, ensuring a full list of 195 nations.
Why Data Transparency Matters
By making the raw data and methodology public, Oxford Insights allows governments to perform a "Sensitivity Analysis." A nation can see exactly which indicator is dragging down their score—such as poor broadband speeds—and prioritize that specific infrastructure investment in their next fiscal budget.
Conclusion: Navigating the Future of AI Readiness
The Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index has evolved from a simple ranking into a sophisticated roadmap for national development. As AI shifts from a peripheral technology to the core engine of public administration, the index provides the necessary framework to measure not just potential, but actual impact.
Summary of the 2025 Landscape
The transition into 2026 sees a global landscape defined by three distinct trends revealed through the index data:
The Operational Shift: Success is now measured by implementation and "Sovereign AI" rather than just policy papers.
The Resilience Mandate: Governance and ethics are no longer "optional extras"; they are foundational to maintaining the public trust required for AI to function.
The Closing Gap: While the "Global North" leads in infrastructure, "Global South" leaders like Egypt, Brazil, and India are rapidly climbing by optimizing their regulatory adaptability.
Actionable Takeaways for Policymakers
Based on the KPIs and data sources used in the 2025 report, countries looking to improve their ranking should focus on the following checklist:
Formalize Data Governance: Move beyond basic privacy laws to create "Open Data" frameworks that allow AI developers to access high-quality, representative datasets.
Invest in "Compute": As the 2025 weighting suggests, infrastructure (data centers and GPU access) is now the primary bottleneck for AI readiness.
Bridge the Talent Gap: Focus on "STEM Retention" to ensure that the human capital pillar remains strong enough to sustain a local tech ecosystem.
Adopt International Standards: Aligning domestic policy with the UNESCO Ethics Framework or the OECD AI Principles improves the "Governance & Ethics" score and attracts foreign investment.
Final Thought
The Government AI Readiness Index serves as a reminder that AI readiness is not a finish line, but a continuous cycle of innovation, regulation, and infrastructure building. As the technology evolves, the index will continue to serve as the global compass for nations navigating the complexities of the digital age.
