Nigeria has claimed the top spot among African countries in the second edition of the Global Index on Responsible AI, jumping 42 places globally in just two years to rank 38th out of 135 countries assessed. The country posted an overall score of 45.93, a sharp rise from the 7.21 it recorded in the inaugural 2024 edition, when it sat at 80th globally.
The ranking, published by the Cape Town based Global Center on AI Governance, is considered one of the most thorough evaluations of how nations are managing artificial intelligence responsibly. It measures countries across five areas: inclusion and diversity, ethics and sustainability, labour and skills, trust and safety, and how AI is used in public service delivery. Nigeria’s score puts it well above Africa’s regional average of 21.79, with Egypt trailing in second place on the continent, followed by South Africa, Libya, Zambia, Gambia and Mauritius.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani described the achievement as proof that Nigeria’s approach to building AI capacity alongside proper governance is paying off. He said the recognition affirms the belief that African nations should not just adopt AI technology but actively help shape how it is regulated and deployed around the world. According to Tijani, the improvement reflects deliberate work by the federal government to build an ecosystem that balances innovation with responsibility, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s ambition of growing Nigeria into a trillion dollar economy.
Beyond the numerical ranking, the report singled out Nigeria as a global Bright Spot for advancing AI literacy while simultaneously protecting children and other vulnerable groups from the risks tied to emerging technology. The index credited initiatives such as the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the 3 Million Technical Talent programme for expanding AI skills across the country. It also pointed to Nigeria’s legal frameworks, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act and the General Application and Implementation Directive of 2025, which strengthen safeguards around children’s personal data and restrict decisions made solely through automated processing.
The report noted that Nigeria is among a small group of African countries attempting to close the gap between preparing citizens for an AI driven future and shielding them from its potential harms, particularly younger users.
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This is not Nigeria’s only recent win on the global AI stage. Earlier this year, the country climbed 31 places on the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index, moving from 103rd to 72nd worldwide, a sign of improving policy readiness and institutional capacity around AI adoption. Tijani has also received individual recognition from TIME magazine for his work advancing responsible AI and digital transformation across the continent.
Despite Nigeria’s continental lead, the broader report flagged that Africa still records the lowest regional average score globally at just 22 out of 100, with only six of the 39 African countries surveyed scoring above the world average. Most AI governance frameworks across the continent also remain non-binding, with only about 21 percent carrying legal enforceability, underlining how far the region still has to go even as individual countries like Nigeria pull ahead.
