Egypt has emerged as Africa’s most AI-ready country, ranking 51st globally out of 195 nations in the 2025 Government Artificial Intelligence Readiness Index published by Oxford Insights, according to a statement by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. With a score of 57.5, Egypt climbed 14 places from its 2024 position, underscoring steady progress in building the policy, institutional, and technical foundations needed to deploy artificial intelligence across government and the economy.
The latest ranking places Egypt first in Africa and fourth in the Middle East and North Africa, behind Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates. Oxford Insights’ annual index evaluates governments using 69 indicators grouped into six pillars, measuring not only infrastructure and technology, but also governance frameworks, public-sector adoption, and long-term resilience.
Egypt’s strongest performance came in Policy Capacity, where it achieved a perfect score of 100, tying globally with the United Kingdom, Australia, and Serbia. The country also posted solid results in Governance, Public Sector Adoption, and Resilience, reflecting expanding use of AI tools in government services and growing institutional readiness. Scores in AI Infrastructure and Development and Diffusion were comparatively lower, highlighting ongoing challenges related to digital infrastructure depth, private-sector scaling, and advanced talent availability.
Oxford Insights noted that countries such as Egypt are increasingly embedding AI into national development priorities while simultaneously refining regulatory and ethical frameworks to support domestic AI ecosystems. The report added that bridging skills gaps and strengthening infrastructure remain critical next steps for many emerging AI adopters.
The improved ranking comes amid rapid global expansion of the AI economy. Data from the UN Conference on Trade and Development project the global AI market will grow to $4.8 trillion by 2033, up from $189 billion in 2023, sharply increasing the economic stakes for countries positioning themselves early.
Egypt’s communications and IT minister Amr Talaat attributed the advance to the government’s push to integrate AI into public services and to the second National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2025–2030) launched by the National Council for Artificial Intelligence. The strategy prioritizes data governance, sectoral AI deployment—particularly in healthcare and justice—and human-capital development, with a target of training 30,000 AI specialists by 2030. It also aims to lift AI’s contribution to GDP to 7.7 percent and expand AI literacy across government institutions and society.
Complementing its AI performance, Egypt also ranked among the top 12 countries globally in the International Telecommunication Union’s 2024 Global Cybersecurity Index, scoring between 95 and 100, reinforcing its position as a regional digital and technology hub as competition intensifies over AI investment, talent, and applications.
