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Global Index on Responsible AI 2026 Maps Governance Across 135 Countries

Coverage from Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies and others

Articles

4

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The Topic

Global Index on Responsible AI 2026 Maps Governance Across 135 Countries topic image

The topic centers on the 2026 Global Index on Responsible AI, which compares governance capacity across 135 countries and jurisdictions using indicators covering policy, inclusion, safety, skills, public services, civil society participation, and enabling conditions. Nigeria leads African countries in the index but ranks 38th globally, while Norway ranks first overall. Separately, governments across Asia are advancing AI strategies, data and privacy rules, public-sector guidance, infrastructure programs, cybersecurity measures, and AI-specific consultations, showing that governance development is occurring through multiple national instruments rather than a single regulatory model.

First Article: 07/02/26

Latest Article: 07/23/26

Summary

  • GIRAI 2026 evaluates 135 countries and jurisdictions using 38 indicators across inclusion, ethics and sustainability, workforce, trust and safety, and public-sector AI use.
  • The index draws on 396 governance frameworks, 805 government initiatives, 603 civil society initiatives, and more than 68,000 data points.
  • Nigeria ranks first in Africa and 38th globally, with stronger trust-and-safety and inclusion results than public-service AI and workforce results.
  • Norway ranks first globally, while the average score for 39 African countries remains below the global average.
  • Asian governments are combining national AI strategies with sectoral data programs, public-sector guidance, privacy consultations, cybersecurity measures, and consumer or online-safety actions.
  • South Korea, China, Taiwan, Australia, Japan, and Singapore feature prominently in concrete measures involving data centers, datasets, agentic AI, AI impact assessments, privacy, and cyber risk.
  • The material shows substantial policy activity but fragmented approaches across jurisdictions, with many measures still under consultation or scheduled to take effect later.

History

This topic is new, but as new articles are added to it this area will summarize shifts, changes and expansions of the issues.

Featured

07-23-2026
Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies
AI Governance in the Global North and Global South
Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies issued a call for research on AI governance differences across Global North and Global South, referencing APEC AI Initiative 2026-2030.

Additional Articles