Nigeria emerges Africa’s top-ranked country in Responsible AI index

Nigeria has emerged as Africa’s highest-ranked country in the latest Global Index on Responsible AI (GIRAI) after climbing 42 places globally over the past two years. According to the latest rankings published by the Global Center on AI Governance (GIRAI), Nigeria moved from 80th position in 2024 to 38th globally, with a score of 45.93, overtaking Egypt and Kenya to become Africa’s top performer. The index evaluates 135 countries across five key areas, including inclusion and diversity, ethics and sustainability, labour and skills, trust and safety, and AI use in public services. The ranking comes as AI is projected to contribute about $1.2 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2030, with governments intensifying efforts to establish governance frameworks that promote the responsible development and deployment of the technology. Nigeria’s improved performance was attributed to government programs aimed at strengthening the AI ecosystem of the country, including the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS), investments in digital public infrastructure, digital skills development, governance frameworks for emerging technologies, and international partnerships. Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, described the recognition as evidence of Nigeria’s commitment to building an inclusive and responsible AI ecosystem. He said the focus of the government remains on developing the infrastructure, talent and policy environment needed to ensure artificial intelligence delivers economic value while supporting the country’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy. Beyond the rankings, the report identified Nigeria as a global “Bright Spot” for combining AI skills development with safeguards for children and vulnerable groups. It also identified the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for promoting AI literacy, teacher training and nationwide capacity-building, alongside the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, which provides structured AI and machine learning training for young Nigerians. The report also recognised the Nigeria Data Protection Act and the General Application and Implementation Directive (GAID) 2025 for strengthening the protection of children’s personal data through parental consent requirements and restrictions on decisions based solely on automated processing. This achievement follows the earlier rise of the country in the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index, where it climbed from 103rd to 72nd globally.