Egypt has emerged as the leading nation in Africa for government AI readiness, according to Oxford Insights’ 2025 Government AI Readiness Index. The country climbed 14 places to rank 51st globally – a significant leap from its 65th-place finish in 2024.
Policy and Resilience Strengths
Egypt’s success is driven by its strong policy framework and resilience in adopting AI technologies. Notably, the country achieved a perfect score of 100 in the Index’s Policy Capacity pillar, tying with the United Kingdom, Serbia, and Australia. This indicates a clear national vision for AI implementation, efficient resource allocation, and active engagement in international AI agreements.
Additionally, Egypt topped the Arab region in Resilience, scoring 62.81. This reflects the country’s ability to navigate potential social, economic, and environmental challenges linked to widespread AI adoption. The fact that Egypt has outpaced regional powerhouses like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, despite their substantial AI investments, highlights the effectiveness of its strategic approach.
National AI Strategy: A Six-Pillar Framework
Egypt’s progress is directly tied to its ambitious National AI Strategy, launched in early 2025. The strategy rests on six pillars:
- Strengthening governance for responsible AI use.
- Developing AI applications to improve service efficiency.
- Enhancing data availability and quality.
- Providing advanced infrastructure.
- Cultivating an innovation-supportive ecosystem.
- Developing a skilled national AI workforce.
The country’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, emphasized that these efforts are already yielding results, with AI technologies being harnessed to benefit society.
Long-Term Vision: Growth and Talent Development
Egypt’s AI ambitions extend beyond immediate gains. By 2030, the nation aims to establish over 250 AI companies, train a workforce of 30,000 AI professionals, and raise the ICT sector’s contribution to GDP to 7.7%.
Furthermore, Egypt plans to develop a national Arabic language model for tasks like translation and sentiment analysis – a move that could unlock domain-specific AI applications tailored to the region. This builds upon the first AI strategy launched in 2021, which prioritized ethical AI use under the Egyptian Charter for Responsible AI.
The rapid advancement of Egypt in AI readiness is a testament to its strategic focus and long-term planning. The country’s commitment to governance, resilience, and talent development positions it as a leader in the African AI landscape.
