Artificial intelligence is no longer a future concept it is reshaping how governments deliver services, make decisions, and compete on the world stage. But not every country is equally prepared. The Government AI Readiness Index 2025, published by Oxford Insights, puts hard numbers to that gap, and the results are both impressive and sobering.
What Is the Government AI Readiness Index?
The Government AI Readiness Index 2025 is the most detailed edition yet, evaluating countries by examining 69 indicators across 14 dimensions within six core pillars: Policy Capacity, Governance, AI Infrastructure, Public Sector Adoption, Development and Diffusion, and Resilience. This makes it the most thorough AI readiness assessment tool available for comparing national governments.
As the only global index focused specifically on the role of government, it offers a comprehensive view of how public institutions can enable and govern AI, while recognising the importance of collaboration with the private sector and academia. The index is used as a benchmark by countries around the world and features in multiple national AI strategies, informing policymaking at the highest levels.
The AI readiness score assigned to each country sits on a scale of 0 to 100. A higher score means a government is better positioned to harness artificial intelligence for the benefit of its citizens and public services.
Top Countries in the AI Readiness Index 2025
The United States leads globally with a score of 87.03, followed by Singapore at 84.25, South Korea at 79.98, France at 79.36, and the United Kingdom at 78.88.
China ranked 6th and Singapore 7th in the Government AI Readiness Index 2025, highlighting Asia’s growing influence in AI, with China standing out in infrastructure strength and Singapore leading in government-driven AI adoption.
These top nations share a common thread. The top 10 performers achieved an average Policy Capacity score of 90.2 percent, reflecting comprehensive national AI strategies and mature regulatory environments, while an average Governance score of 87.9 percent indicates that leading countries have built solid institutional mechanisms to guide responsible AI development and use.
What the AI Readiness Index Reveals About the World
The 2025 Government AI Readiness Index points to uneven global preparedness for public-sector AI, with governance capacity, data foundations, and skills emerging as the main dividing lines between countries. Countries that score highly tend to have clear national AI strategies, defined accountability structures, and ethical or human-rights-based frameworks guiding public-sector AI use. Where these elements are missing, AI initiatives are more fragmented and harder to scale, even in countries with strong technical capacity.
Twelve new national AI strategies were launched in 2024 three times more than in 2023 with most coming from developing countries like Ethiopia, Ghana, and Nigeria. This signals that even nations with limited resources understand that having an AI strategy is no longer optional.
Meanwhile, 78 percent of companies globally now use AI, up from 55 percent in 2023, showing rapid business adoption that governments are under pressure to keep pace with.
Where Does Pakistan Stand?
Pakistan’s position in the AI readiness index by country tells a story of potential held back by structural challenges. The Government AI Readiness Index ranks Pakistan eighth of 17 countries across South and Central Asia, placing it below India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka meaning Pakistan is not leading South Asia on AI readiness.
As of 2024, Pakistan ranked 97 out of 133 on overall digital infrastructure, skills and usage, and 149 out of 197 on openness of government data. You cannot build an AI economy on fragmented, inaccessible data, and right now, that is exactly the infrastructure Pakistan is trying to build on.
Pakistan’s National AI Policy 2025 lays out a six-pillar framework covering AI innovation, public awareness, secure systems, sectoral transformation, infrastructure, and international partnerships which shows the government is aware of what is needed. The challenge is closing the gap between policy and reality.
Regional Picture: How South Asia Compares
India is making notable strategic moves, with the IndiaAI Mission emerging as a strategic play to shape an extensive domestic AI ecosystem. The India AI Summit in February 2026 could see some of these efforts be recognised and potentially incorporated by other countries.North America ranks first globally with an average score of 82.60, showing strong innovation, governance, and data systems. Western Europe follows with an average of 69.56, while East Asia ranks third with an average of 57.95. South Asia as a whole still has considerable ground to cover before it can be considered AI-ready at a regional level.
Why the Government AI Readiness Score Matters
The AI readiness score is not just a number it has real consequences for a country’s economy, security, and public services. Governments with strong scores are able to automate routine services, improve healthcare delivery through AI tools, detect fraud more efficiently, and attract foreign investment in AI-related industries.
Countries with low scores risk falling behind in economic competitiveness and becoming consumers of AI technology rather than producers or shapers of it. As the Government AI Readiness Index 2026 edition approaches, pressure is growing on lower-ranked governments to move faster.
Translating national learnings into wider practice will be key, including providing a voice to the many countries often not at the table when AI rules and norms are being determined. This is especially relevant for South Asian and developing nations that currently lack representation in major AI governance forums.
What Makes a Country AI Ready?
Being AI ready means more than just having fast internet or a few tech companies. It means a government has the policies, data infrastructure, human capital, governance structures, and ethical frameworks in place to deploy AI responsibly and effectively at scale.
The index highlights persistent gaps in public-sector skills and institutional capacity. Many governments continue to struggle with recruiting and retaining AI, data, and digital policy expertise. This is perhaps the most human element of AI readiness having the right people in government who understand both the technology and its risks.
An effective AI readiness assessment tool evaluates not just what technology a country has, but whether its institutions are capable of using that technology well. The Government AI Readiness Index 2025 is exactly that kind of tool measuring depth, not just surface-level adoption.
The Three Pillars of AI Readiness
The traditional framework for measuring AI readiness rests on three foundational pillars that remain central to the Oxford Insights methodology:
Government Capacity looks at a government’s vision for AI, its governance and ethics frameworks, and the digital maturity of public institutions. This pillar answers the question: does the government know what it wants to do with AI, and can its institutions actually execute that vision?
Data and Infrastructure covers the availability of quality data, how well it represents the national population, and the strength of the technical systems needed to run AI at scale. Without clean, accessible, and representative data, no AI system can function reliably in the public sector.
Technology Sector examines the country’s capacity for innovation, the quality and size of its AI talent pool, and the overall maturity of the AI industry operating within its borders. A strong technology sector can accelerate government AI adoption through public-private partnerships and knowledge transfer.
Looking Ahead: Government AI Readiness Index 2026
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, leveraging its sovereign wealth fund, launched HUMAIN — a commercial approach to shaping a full-stack AI ecosystem for the country. This type of bold, state-backed initiative is increasingly being watched by other emerging economies as a model for rapid AI capability building.
At the 2025 United Nations General Assembly, the UN launched two new AI governance bodies: the Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI. These institutions will shape how AI readiness is measured and governed globally in the years ahead, and their decisions will directly influence what the Government AI Readiness Index 2026 prioritises.
For countries like Pakistan, the path forward is clear invest in digital infrastructure, open government data, build AI literacy in the public sector, and move from having a policy document to actually implementing one.
Conclusion
The Government AI Readiness Index 2025 is more than a ranking. It is a mirror that shows each nation where it stands in one of the most consequential technological transitions in modern history. The US, Singapore, South Korea, France, and the UK lead the way but the race is far from over. Developing nations that move with urgency today can still close the gap and shape how AI serves their people tomorrow.
For Pakistan and similar economies, the AI readiness index by country should serve as a wake-up call not a reason for despair, but a precise map of exactly where the work needs to begin.
FAQs
What does AI ready mean?
Being AI ready means that a country, government, or organisation has the necessary foundations in place to effectively develop, adopt, and govern artificial intelligence. This includes having a national AI strategy, reliable data infrastructure, strong digital connectivity, skilled human capital, and clear ethical and legal frameworks. For a government specifically, being AI ready means it can use AI tools to improve public services, make more informed policy decisions, and respond to challenges faster and more accurately. It is not simply about having the technology it is about having the institutions, talent, and governance structures needed to use that technology well and responsibly. A high AI readiness score on indices like the Government AI Readiness Index indicates that all these elements are working together in a coordinated and effective way.
What are the three pillars of AI readiness?
The three pillars of AI readiness, as used in major global assessments including the Government AI Readiness Index by Oxford Insights, are Government Capacity, Data and Infrastructure, and the Technology Sector. Government Capacity refers to a nation’s political will, institutional ability, and regulatory frameworks for deploying AI in public services including having a clear national AI strategy and ethical guidelines. Data and Infrastructure covers the availability, quality, and accessibility of data that AI systems need to function, along with the technical infrastructure such as cloud computing, broadband connectivity, and computing power. The Technology Sector pillar measures the strength of the country’s AI industry, its innovation capacity, its pool of AI-trained professionals, and the maturity of its research and development ecosystem. Together, these three pillars determine how comprehensively and sustainably a government can harness artificial intelligence for public benefit.
What is the 30% rule in AI?
The 30% rule in AI is a widely referenced principle in AI adoption and workforce transformation suggesting that approximately 30 percent of current job tasks across most industries could be automated or significantly altered by artificial intelligence within the near future. It is used to guide organisations and governments in planning AI transitions responsibly ensuring that workforce retraining, policy adjustments, and ethical safeguards are in place before AI displaces a significant portion of tasks. In the context of government AI readiness, the 30% rule is particularly relevant to the Development and Diffusion pillar, which measures how broadly AI is being integrated into the economy and public sector. Countries with high AI readiness scores tend to be better prepared to manage this transition, offering reskilling programmes, updated labour policies, and inclusive digital education systems that help workers adapt rather than be left behind by automation.
