ZIMBABWE is still trailing behind in the technological race to benefit from artificial intelligence, falling slightly below the regional and international average readiness scores on the Oxford Insights 2024 Government AI Readiness Index.
The country scored 32.59 in 2024, against a regional average of 32.70 for Sub-Saharan Africa, while the global average score for AI readiness is 47.59.
The index assessed the AI readiness of 188 countries for 2024, with the United States and Canada leading with scores of 87.03 and 78.18 respectively.
From Oceania, Australia ranked 10th out of 188 with a score of 76.45, which is slightly higher than China’s 72.01.
The DRC was one of the least prepared countries, with a score of 22.10, together with Mozambique and Angola at 24.22 and 26.91 respectively.
The index evaluates readiness across three core pillars: government, technology sector, and data and infrastructure.
Zimbabwe scored 23.69 in the Government pillar, 27.82 in the Technology Sector pillar, and 46.27 in the Data and Infrastructure pillar.
Its scores in the Government and Technology Sector pillars are lower, reflecting areas for potential investment consistent with regional trends.
