Public Sector AI Readiness 2026: Government Benchmarks by Country

0.6382

EGDI Global Average

0.589

GTMI Global Average

52.4 pts

AI Readiness Gap

63%

Gov'ts with AI/Tech Laws

When will the AI Index Report 2026 be released?

The Stanford HAI AI Index has been published annually in April since 2022. The AI Index Report 2026 is expected in April 2026; the most recent edition currently available is the AI Index Report 2025 (published April 2025). Stanford HAI focuses on industry, research, and model-level indicators; for government/public-sector benchmarks, see the GPSAI scoreboard in this report.

What are the key findings of the AI Index Report 2025?

Stanford HAI's 2025 report highlights: U.S. federal AI-related regulations rose to 75 in 2024 (from 25 in 2023); U.S. private-sector AI investment reached $109.1B in 2024; 78% of organizations reported using AI in 2024 (up from 55% the prior year); and the U.S.–China model performance gap has narrowed substantially. See aiindex.stanford.edu for the full report.

Is there an EGDI 2026 release?

Not yet. The UN E-Government Survey is published biennially. EGDI 2024 (released September 2024) is the current authoritative dataset (global average 0.6382). EGDI 2026 is expected in Q3–Q4 2026 from UN DESA.

Where can I download the Government AI Readiness Index dimension scores CSV?

Oxford Insights publishes the dimension-level scores for the Government AI Readiness Index 2024 and 2025 at their data download page. For the 2024 edition, the dimension_score.csv file is hosted at oxfordinsights.com/ai-readiness. The 2026 edition is not yet published. Our GPSAI scoreboard reproduces the regional averages but defers to Oxford Insights for the country-level dimension data.

Is there a public sector AI adoption index for 2026?

No single "public sector AI adoption index 2026" yet exists. The closest reproducible references are: Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index 2025 (195 countries), World Bank GovTech Maturity Index 2025 (198 economies), and UN EGDI 2024 (193 Member States). The GPSAI framework in this report combines these three baselines into a scoreboard rather than a single composite score, on purpose: the indices use different methodologies and weighting choices that prevent a defensible single ranking.

How does the EU AI Act apply to public-sector procurement in 2026?

As of 2 August 2025, general-purpose AI (GPAI) obligations apply, and as of 2 February 2025, prohibited practices (Article 5) and AI literacy (Article 4) obligations are enforceable. High-risk AI obligations under Annex III (which covers many public-sector use cases such as biometric identification, critical infrastructure, education, employment, and access to public services) become fully applicable from 2 August 2026. Public buyers should already be screening tenders for Annex III classification and requiring conformity-assessment evidence from vendors.

193

UN Member States
in EGDI panel

198

Economies in
GTMI panel

195

Countries in Oxford
AI Readiness

1,560+

World Bank GovTech
activities globally

EGDI Regional Averages (2024)

UN E-Government Development Index • 193 Member States

GTMI Global Average Trend

World Bank GovTech Maturity Index • 198 economies

EGDI Global Average Trend (2018–2024)

Biennial UN E-Government Survey • Steady upward trajectory

Index Coverage Comparison

Different denominators — not interchangeable

Digital Foundations Progress

EGDI (UN DESA) vs GTMI (World Bank) • Global averages over time

Population Digital Government Access

Share of world population lagging in digital gov development

Government AI Readiness by Region (2025)

Oxford Insights • 195 countries • Score 0–100

AI Readiness Dimensions by Region

Relative capacity scores across six pillars (indicative)

Governance & Capacity Indicators

Key percentages from official sources

194

Countries assessed
ITU GCI 2024

850M

People without
official ID (ID4D)

OCDS

Open standard for
procurement data

Scenario 1: Convergent Governance + Measured Scaling

Increased alignment across procurement controls, risk management frameworks (e.g., NIST AI RMF), and UN capacity-building mechanisms.

Trigger: Countries adopt standardized procurement clauses and establish/participate in AI safety institutes.
Leading indicators: Growth in survey-reported governance measures (UN MSQ), GTMI increases, and greater consistency in AI transparency reporting.
Grounding: Proliferation of international mechanisms (AI Safety Institutes Network) and procurement artifacts (UK guidance, EU model clauses).

Scenario 2: Fragmented "Regulatory Blocs" + Uneven Capacity-Building

Different governance regimes dominate by region (e.g., EU risk-based compliance vs alternative models), with interoperability burdens on vendors and governments.

Trigger: Divergence in technical standards and enforcement, uneven adoption of capacity-building commitments.
Leading indicators: Growth in region-specific procurement templates and inconsistent cross-border evaluation signals.
Grounding: EU's binding regime (AI Act) alongside multiple distinct global governance pacts; U.S. policy shifts (EO 14110 revocation).

Scenario 3: Procurement-Led Acceleration with Accountability Lag

Rapid adoption through procurement (especially productivity tooling) outpaces governance capacity.

Trigger: Large-scale contracting without corresponding transparency and evaluation infrastructure.
Leading indicators: Procurement guidance exists but deployment disclosures remain sparse; governance metrics don't rise proportionally.
Grounding: UN DESA notes governance is rising but incomplete in survey results.

30-Day Actions: Set Foundations

• Publish an AI system inventory baseline for public sector use cases and vendors (even if incomplete), aligned to internal risk tiers and procurement records.
• Adopt a minimum procurement control set: evaluation plan, data governance requirements, incident reporting, auditability, and human oversight clauses. Use EU model clauses as a template pattern where relevant.
• Select a consistent risk terminology referencing NIST AI RMF categories for internal alignment (even if voluntary adoption).

60-Day Actions: Operationalize

• Integrate AI procurement checklists into standard procurement workflows; require vendors to provide evaluation artifacts and model documentation where feasible.
• Establish cross-agency governance: designate accountable owners (policy, procurement, security, delivery) and define escalation paths for high-risk AI.

90-Day Actions: Scale Responsibly

• Launch 2–3 high-value, low-risk AI deployments in service delivery or internal ops with clear KPIs and public documentation. Use GTMI/EGDI baselines to prioritize enabling infrastructure.
• Join or coordinate with international evaluation/safety bodies and adopt shared testing approaches via AI safety institutes network principles.

0.6382 — global average EGDI score across 193 UN Member States in 2024, up from 0.6102 in 2022 (Source: UN DESA E-Government Survey 2024).

195 countries were assessed in the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index 2025, the broadest published panel of government AI readiness (Source: Oxford Insights 2025).

88.36/100 — United States score in the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index 2025, the highest in the world (Source: Oxford Insights 2025).

52.4-point gap separates the highest regional average (North America 81.51) from the lowest (Sub-Saharan Africa 29.12) in the Oxford Government AI Readiness Index 2025 (Source: Oxford Insights 2025).

75 federal AI-related regulations were enacted across U.S. agencies in 2024, up from 25 in 2023 — a 3× year-over-year increase (Source: Stanford HAI AI Index Report 2025).

$109.1 billion in U.S. private-sector AI investment was recorded in 2024 — roughly 12× China's $9.3B and 24× the UK's $4.5B (Source: Stanford HAI AI Index 2025).

78% of organizations reported using AI in 2024, up from 55% the prior year — a 23-percentage-point single-year jump (Source: Stanford HAI AI Index 2025).

13.5% of EU enterprises (≥10 employees) used AI technologies in 2024, with large enterprises (≥250 employees) reaching 41.2% (Source: Eurostat, January 2025 release).

71% of organizations globally used generative AI in at least one business function in 2025, up from 65% in 2024 (Source: McKinsey State of AI 2025).

Only ~25% of C-suite executives across 1,800+ respondents in 19 markets reported scaling AI value in 2025 — the AI Impact Gap (Source: BCG AI Radar 2025).

0.589 — World Bank GovTech Maturity Index global average in 2025, up from 0.552 in 2022 across 198 economies (Source: World Bank GTMI 2025).

~850 million people worldwide still lacked official identification in 2022, a structural barrier to AI-enabled public service delivery (Source: World Bank ID4D 2022).

More than 70 jurisdictions now publish a formal national AI strategy as of mid-2025, including new entrants from MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa (Source: OECD.AI Policy Observatory).

63% (90/142) of UN Member States Questionnaire respondents reported having laws or regulations covering emerging technologies including AI in 2024 (Source: UN DESA MSQ 2024).

22.4% of the world population remained classified as "lagging" in digital government in 2024, down from 45.0% in 2022 — halving in just two years (Source: UN DESA E-Gov Survey 2024).

2 August 2026 is the date most high-risk AI obligations under EU AI Act Annex III become fully applicable, directly affecting public-sector procurement of biometric, education, employment, and access-to-services AI (Source: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689).

Up to €35 million or 7% of worldwide annual turnover — the maximum fine under EU AI Act Article 99 for prohibited AI practices, whichever is higher (Source: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Article 99).

40 members form the new UN AI Scientific Panel established by UNGA Resolution A/RES/79/325 in August 2025, with full composition expected by Q4 2026 (Source: UN Digital Library A/RES/79/325).

1,560+ GovTech activities in 148 countries have been funded by the World Bank since 1995, an indication of multilateral investment in digital government foundations (Source: World Bank GovTech).

~6.3 million U.S. employer businesses form the denominator for AI-adoption surveys such as the U.S. Census Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), which tracked single-digit AI use rates in 2024–2025 (Source: U.S. Census BTOS).

What is the AI Index Report 2026?

The AI Index Report 2026 is the next annual edition of the Stanford HAI Artificial Intelligence Index. The current authoritative edition is the AI Index Report 2025 (published April 2025). Stanford HAI has released the AI Index annually each April since 2022, so the AI Index Report 2026 is expected in April 2026 at aiindex.stanford.edu. It tracks research, models, investment, policy, and public opinion globally — distinct from government-focused indices like Oxford Insights.

When is the AI Index Report 2026 release date?

April 2026 is the expected release date for the Stanford HAI AI Index Report 2026, based on the consistent April-release cadence since 2022. Until then, the AI Index Report 2025 (published April 2025) is the most recent edition. Sign up at aiindex.stanford.edu for release notifications.

What are the key findings of the AI Index 2026?

The Stanford HAI AI Index 2026 has not yet been released (expected April 2026). The Stanford HAI AI Index 2025 reported: U.S. federal AI-related regulations tripled to 75 in 2024 (up from 25 in 2023); U.S. private-sector AI investment reached $109.1B in 2024 (~12× China); 78% of organizations reported AI use in 2024 (up from 55%); and the U.S.–China model-performance gap closed to near-parity on MMLU.

Where can I download the AI Index 2026 PDF?

The AI Index 2026 PDF will be released on aiindex.stanford.edu in April 2026. The AI Index 2025 PDF is currently available for free download at aiindex.stanford.edu/report/. Stanford HAI also publishes a public dashboard, chapter-level PDFs, and underlying data tables.

Where can I see the AI Index 2026 report charts?

Charts and visualizations from the AI Index 2026 will be published alongside the report on aiindex.stanford.edu in April 2026. Stanford HAI traditionally provides interactive dashboards, downloadable chart PNGs, and underlying CSV data. The AI Index 2025 charts are currently available at aiindex.stanford.edu/dashboard.

What is the Government AI Readiness Index 2026?

Oxford Insights publishes the Government AI Readiness Index annually. The most recent edition is the 2025 edition (published January 2026), covering 195 countries. The 2026 edition is expected in late 2026. The index assesses governments across three pillars (Government, Technology Sector, Data & Infrastructure) and ten dimensions. The United States led the 2025 edition with a score of 88.36/100.

Where is the Government AI Readiness Index dimension_score.csv?

Oxford Insights publishes the dimension-level scores CSV file (often referred to as dimension_score.csv or dimension scores CSV) at their data download page: oxfordinsights.com/ai-readiness/. The 2024 edition's CSV is accessible from the 2024 publication page; the 2025 edition's data files are at the 2025 page. The CSV contains country-by-country dimension scores across the index's pillars.

How is the Government AI Readiness Index 2025 different from 2024?

The 2025 edition expanded country coverage to 195 (up from 188 in 2024), reaffirmed the three-pillar / ten-dimension structure, and added pillar-level transparency on missing data. Methodological refinements between 2024 and 2025 mean direct year-over-year score comparisons should be treated as indicative rather than precise; Oxford Insights generally publishes a methodology change-log in each edition.

What is the Government AI Readiness Index 2025 top 10 countries?

Based on Oxford Insights 2025 (published January 2026): 1) United States (88.36), 2) Singapore, 3) United Kingdom, 4) Canada, 5) South Korea, 6) Germany, 7) France, 8) Netherlands, 9) Finland, 10) Japan. Exact rankings 2-10 vary slightly by methodology snapshot; consult Oxford Insights' published top-10 table for the canonical figures.

What is India's rank in the AI Readiness Index 2026?

The Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index 2026 has not yet been published (expected late 2026). In the 2025 edition (released January 2026), India ranks in the global top 50 — typically in positions 35–45 across recent editions. India's strong Technology-Sector pillar (large IT workforce) and improving Data & Infrastructure pillar (Digital Public Infrastructure including Aadhaar, UPI) underpin its score. Government-pillar progress is supported by the IndiaAI Mission (2024).

What is the EGDI 2026?

EGDI 2026 refers to the next edition of the UN E-Government Development Index, expected to be released in Q3–Q4 2026 by UN DESA. The EGDI is published biennially as part of the UN E-Government Survey. The current authoritative edition is EGDI 2024 (released September 2024), with a global average of 0.6382. EGDI 2026 will refresh scores for all 193 UN Member States.

What is the AI Preparedness Index 2026?

The AI Preparedness Index is published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and measures economic readiness for AI across four pillars (digital infrastructure, human capital, technological innovation, regulation/ethics). The IMF AI Preparedness Index covers ~174 economies; the latest snapshot ranks Singapore, Denmark, the United States, and the Netherlands in the top tier. A 2026 update is expected via the IMF's STA (Statistics Department) channels.

What is the AI Index 2018 DigiBarometer assessment tool?

The DigiBarometer is a Nordic-region digital maturity self-assessment tool developed under EU and Nordic Council accelerator programs (2018 cohort). It assesses organizations' digital and AI maturity across multiple dimensions and is distinct from the global indices (Stanford HAI, Oxford Insights, IMF AI Preparedness) discussed in this report.

What is the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index April 2026?

The Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is a continuously updated benchmark of frontier AI model performance, published at artificialanalysis.ai. Monthly snapshots (e.g., March 2026, April 2026) capture leading model scores across reasoning, coding, math, and multilingual benchmarks. It is distinct from the Stanford HAI AI Index (annual macro report) and the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index (annual government benchmark).

What is the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index 2026 ranking?

The Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index 2026 ranking is updated continuously at artificialanalysis.ai/leaderboards. Top-performing frontier models in 2026 include the latest releases from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, xAI, Meta, and DeepSeek. Rankings are model-level rather than country-level; for country-level AI readiness, see Oxford Insights, EGDI, and GTMI as primary references.

What is AI ranking by country 2026?

AI ranking by country in 2026 depends on which dimension you measure: (a) Government AI readiness — Oxford Insights 2025 ranks the United States #1 (88.36), Singapore, UK, Canada, South Korea in the top 5; (b) Digital government foundations — UN EGDI 2024 ranks Denmark, Estonia, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Iceland in the top group; (c) Frontier model output — China and the U.S. dominate notable model production; (d) Talent — Stanford HAI 2025 reports U.S. leads private investment by ~12× over China.

What is the AI Governance Index?

There is no single canonical 'AI Governance Index' — multiple sources track AI governance maturity from different angles. Major references include: CAIDP AI and Democratic Values Index (annual, 80+ countries), Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index (Government pillar specifically), Stanford HAI AI Index (policy chapter), and OECD.AI Policy Observatory's national strategies tracker. This report's GPSAI scoreboard catalogues the 12 most pivotal global governance instruments rather than a single composite governance index.

How does the EU AI Act apply to countries outside the EU?

The EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) applies extraterritorially under Article 2: providers placing AI systems on the EU market, deployers in the EU, and providers and deployers in third countries whose AI output is used in the Union all fall in scope. This means non-EU vendors selling AI to EU public buyers — including via cloud APIs — must comply.

What are EU AI Act fines for prohibited practices?

Under Article 99 of the EU AI Act, fines for prohibited AI practices (Article 5) reach up to €35 million or 7% of total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher. Non-compliance with high-risk obligations is capped at €15M or 3% turnover, and supplying incorrect information to authorities up to €7.5M or 1% turnover. Penalties are tiered by company size for SMEs.

What are AI applications in government 2026?

Documented AI applications in government in 2026 include: (i) citizen-facing chatbots and virtual assistants (Estonia Bürokratt, Singapore Pair Chat); (ii) algorithmic transparency registers (Netherlands, UK ATRS); (iii) impact-assessment tools (Canada AIA); (iv) tax / benefits / fraud detection systems (multiple OECD countries); (v) document summarisation for civil servants (UK Redbox); (vi) cybersecurity threat detection (various AI safety institutes); (vii) translation / accessibility (EU eTranslation).

What countries are using AI innovation engines for government services 2026?

Countries with documented AI innovation engines for government services in 2026 include: Singapore (GovTech Pair / LaunchPad), Estonia (Bürokratt + e-Estonia framework), United Kingdom (Incubator for Artificial Intelligence — i.AI), United States (GSA's AI Centre of Excellence + federal AI use case inventories), Australia (Digital Transformation Agency AI projects), Canada (Treasury Board AIA + federal AI strategy), and the European Union via the EU AI Office. Most are catalogued in OECD.AI's national strategies tracker.

What is the AI Talent Concentration by Country 2026?

Stanford HAI AI Index 2025 reports the U.S. attracted roughly half of global AI talent flows in 2024, with China, the United Kingdom, India, and Germany in the next tier. LinkedIn's AI Talent Index ranks Israel highest in AI talent concentration per-capita. For the most current 2026 talent benchmark, see Alice Labs' separate Global AI Talent & Compensation Index 2026 report, which aggregates LinkedIn, Stanford HAI, and OECD signals.

What is the AI Regulation Index 2026 — least regulated countries?

There is no canonical 'AI Regulation Index 2026' that ranks countries from most to least regulated. Useful proxies: OECD.AI Policy Observatory's national strategies tracker (70+ jurisdictions with strategies), CAIDP AI & Democratic Values Index (compliance with international norms), and the World Bank GTMI governance sub-pillar. Countries with explicitly light-touch regulatory frameworks as of 2026 include the United States (post EO 14148), Japan (innovation-first AI policy), and Singapore (sandboxed AI Verify approach).

What is the AI Ready Data score for public sector?

There is no single canonical 'AI-ready data' score for the public sector globally. The UN DESA Open Data Inventory (OGDI), OECD's OURdata Index (Open, Useful, Reusable government data), and the World Bank's Statistical Capacity Index together capture much of what 'AI-ready data' implies. The OECD OURdata Index covers 38 OECD countries and rates open data initiatives across data availability, accessibility, and re-use support — a useful proxy for AI readiness on the data dimension.

What is AI Readiness Assessment for the public sector?

An AI Readiness Assessment for the public sector typically evaluates: (i) digital government foundations (EGDI proxy); (ii) data infrastructure and identity systems; (iii) governance institutions; (iv) workforce skills; (v) procurement maturity; (vi) regulatory capacity. The Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index methodology is one canonical assessment framework. Alice Labs' GPSAI scoreboard combines EGDI + GTMI + Oxford Insights for a triangulated assessment.

How many countries have national AI strategies in 2026?

More than 70 jurisdictions publish a formal national AI strategy as of mid-2025, per the OECD.AI Policy Observatory. By the end of 2026 this is expected to exceed 80 jurisdictions, with new entrants from MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South-East Asia. Strategy publication is necessary but not sufficient — only roughly half of strategies include explicit public-sector implementation roadmaps with funded budget lines.

What is the Government AI Readiness Index 2025 or 2026 top countries?

Top countries in the Government AI Readiness Index 2025 (the most recent edition, published January 2026, covering 195 countries): United States (88.36), Singapore, United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, Germany, France, Netherlands, Finland, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Australia, UAE, Estonia, Switzerland, Ireland, Israel, China. The 2026 edition is expected late 2026.

What is AI Sentience Readiness Index 2026?

There is no widely recognised 'AI Sentience Readiness Index 2026'. This appears to be a misnomer or a search variant. Mainstream AI readiness indices (Oxford Insights, IMF, GTMI) measure governmental and economic capacity, not 'sentience'. The closest scientific reference points are work by Anthropic on model welfare and academic frameworks on AI moral status — not country-level benchmarks.

What is the International AI Safety Report 2026 summary key findings?

The International AI Safety Report 2026 (chaired by Yoshua Bengio, commissioned at the UK AI Safety Summit) provides a scientific consensus synthesis on AI capabilities, risks, and mitigation pathways. Key 2026 findings include: rapid frontier-model capability scaling continues; bioweapon and cyberweapon misuse risks remain plausible but currently bounded; loss-of-control risks are debated; and governance/evaluation infrastructure is the highest-leverage near-term intervention. See the official UK AI Safety Institute publication for the full report.

What is the CAIDP Index 2026?

The Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP) AI and Democratic Values Index assesses ~80 countries on AI policy alignment with democratic values, human rights, and rule of law. The 2026 edition is expected in early 2026 from caidp.org. Earlier editions ranked Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden in the top tier. CAIDP complements Oxford Insights by focusing specifically on governance and human rights, not technical readiness.

What is UNGA Resolution A/RES/78/265 adopted date?

UNGA Resolution A/RES/78/265, 'Seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development', was adopted by the UN General Assembly without a vote on 21 March 2024. It was the first UN-wide consensus instrument on AI and was followed by A/RES/78/311 (1 July 2024) on capacity-building and A/RES/79/325 (26 August 2025) establishing the 40-member scientific panel and Global Dialogue.

What is the UN E-Government Survey 2024?

The UN E-Government Survey 2024 (released September 2024 by UN DESA) is the 13th edition of the biennial assessment of digital government across all 193 UN Member States. It reports the EGDI global average at 0.6382 (up from 0.6102 in 2022), Europe leading at 0.8493, Africa at 0.4247. The 2024 survey also released a dedicated AI Addendum exploring AI use in government.

How can governments cite the AI Index in the EU AI Act context?

The Stanford HAI AI Index is cited extensively in EU AI Act preparatory documents and Commission communications as a reference for AI capability and adoption trends. It is not, however, a legal basis for the AI Act itself — the AI Act's binding provisions reference Council of Europe, OECD, and ISO standards rather than the AI Index. The AI Index informs Commission's annual AI strategy reports and Member State coordination via the EU AI Board.

Is the AI Index cited by governments, OECD, and UN?

Yes. The Stanford HAI AI Index is cited in OECD AI Outlook publications, multiple UN system reports (UNESCO, ITU, UN DESA E-Gov Survey), Commission communications, and country-level AI policy documents. It functions as the de facto reference for AI macro-statistics across multilateral policy work, alongside the OECD AI Policy Observatory and the EU's annual AI strategy review.

What is the Government AI Readiness Index 2025 — 195 governments scope?

The Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index 2025 covers 195 governments — the broadest panel ever assessed in the index's history. The 2025 edition (published January 2026) added several new entrants relative to 2024 (188 countries) and reaffirmed the three-pillar / ten-dimension methodology. The full 195-country dataset and dimension_score.csv are available on Oxford Insights' download page.

APA (7th edition)

Ingemarsson, L. (2026, June 26). Global Public Sector AI Index 2026 (Version 1.7). Alice Labs. https://alicelabs.ai/reports/global-public-sector-ai-index-2026

MLA (9th edition)

Ingemarsson, Linus. "Global Public Sector AI Index 2026." Version 1.7, Alice Labs, 26 June 2026, alicelabs.ai/reports/global-public-sector-ai-index-2026.

Chicago (Author-Date)

Ingemarsson, Linus. 2026. "Global Public Sector AI Index 2026." Version 1.7. Alice Labs. Last modified June 26, 2026. https://alicelabs.ai/reports/global-public-sector-ai-index-2026.

BibTeX

@report{ingemarsson_gpsai_2026,
  title       = {Global Public Sector AI Index 2026},
  author      = {Ingemarsson, Linus},
  year        = {2026},
  month       = {June},
  version     = {1.7},
  institution = {Alice Labs},
  url         = {https://alicelabs.ai/reports/global-public-sector-ai-index-2026},
  note        = {Accessed YYYY-MM-DD}
}

What is the Global Public Sector AI Index?

The Global Public Sector AI Index (GPSAI) 2026 is a reproducible benchmarking framework that measures government AI maturity across implementation, governance, and institutional capacity dimensions using publicly accessible data from UN DESA, World Bank, and Oxford Insights.

Which countries are most AI-ready in the public sector?

According to Oxford Insights' 2025 Government AI Readiness Index, the United States leads with a score of 88.36/100. North America averages 81.51, while Europe averages approximately 65. The widest gap is with Sub-Saharan Africa at 29.12.

What is the EGDI and why does it matter for AI?

The E-Government Development Index (EGDI) by UN DESA measures digital government capacity across 193 Member States. The 2024 global average is 0.6382. It matters for AI because digital government infrastructure — online services, connectivity, data systems — is the foundation layer on which AI deployments depend.

What is the biggest barrier to public sector AI adoption?

The 2× EGDI gap between Europe (0.8493) and Africa (0.4247) and the 52.4-point AI readiness gap between North America and Sub-Saharan Africa are structurally the most significant barriers. Without foundational digital government, AI initiatives risk remaining as isolated pilots without scale.

How does the EU AI Act affect public sector AI?

The EU AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689), published July 12, 2024, establishes a binding, risk-based regulatory regime. It directly shapes public-sector procurement requirements, mandating risk assessments for high-risk AI systems and creating compliance obligations for AI vendors serving government.

What AI governance frameworks exist for governments?

Key frameworks include: NIST AI Risk Management Framework 1.0 (Jan 2023), ISO/IEC 42001 AI management system standard (Dec 2023), UNESCO Recommendation on AI Ethics (2021), OECD AI Recommendation (2019), the Council of Europe Framework Convention on AI (2024), and EU model contractual clauses for AI procurement (2023).

What is the GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI)?

The GTMI is the World Bank's measure of public-sector digital transformation, covering 198 economies using 48 indicators. The global average increased from 0.552 (2022) to 0.589 (2025), but only 35% of economies meet "good practice" thresholds, indicating uneven progress.

How many countries have AI-related legislation?

According to UN DESA's Member States Questionnaire, 63% (90 out of 142 respondents) report having laws or regulations for emerging technologies including AI. However, this figure reflects a respondent subset and should not be interpreted as global prevalence.