The World Bank has stated that artificial intelligence (AI) could help developing countries achieve in a decade what might otherwise take a century. This assertion is contained in the lender's latest World Development Report 2026, titled 'The Promise of Artificial Intelligence'. The report urges governments to act swiftly to address gaps in electricity, connectivity, skills, and institutional quality that could leave them behind.
AI Adoption Survey in Nigeria
The report surveyed enterprises' AI adoption in developing economies, sampling 777 firms in Nigeria. According to the World Bank, developing economies should adopt an optimistic mindset, noting that AI could help governments reach billions of underserved people with medical, legal, educational, and agricultural services more quickly.
"AI could help extend otherwise costly medical, legal, educational, and agricultural services to the underserved billions—doing in a decade what might otherwise take a century," the report stated.
Job Automation Risks and Productivity Gains
The report noted that jobs in high-income countries are more than three times as likely to be at risk of automation by generative AI as those in low- and middle-income countries. Specifically, 4.5 per cent of existing jobs in low- and middle-income countries are at risk, compared with 14.2 per cent in high-income countries.
At the same time, 16.2 per cent of jobs in developing economies could see their productivity meaningfully boosted by AI, close to the 18.7 per cent expected in high-income countries. The greatest promise for developing countries lies not in replacing workers, but in amplifying what they can do, the report said.
Seizing the AI Lifeline
"AI has thrown developing economies a lifeline, and they should seize it," said Indermit Gill, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank Group. He explained that developing economies do not need large models or big data centres to reap the benefits of AI adoption. By adapting small, low-cost AI tools to local conditions, they can bring better medical care, education, judicial services, and agricultural extension within reach of millions.
The report is the first comprehensive assessment of AI's implications for developing countries, revealing how businesses and governments there have begun to use AI. It revealed that AI is already helping people, businesses, and governments solve problems, analyse information, improve forecasts, and deliver services on a larger scale. These capabilities are especially valuable in countries where trained professionals, reliable records, and public capacity are often limited.
Practical Applications and Growth Potential
According to the World Bank, AI tools can make it easier for doctors to diagnose patients, farmers to make better crop decisions, and businesses to become more productive. Governments, too, could use AI to improve tax collection, social programmes, disaster response, healthcare, and education. The lender said AI could significantly boost the weak growth performance of developing countries before the end of the 2020s while delivering tangible benefits to people.
The report added that the opportunity is limited, noting that most developing economies still lack the power, internet access, data, skills, and institutions needed to use AI effectively. Without deliberate action, AI could widen disparities between countries, increase inequality within them, concentrate market power, weaken trust in public institutions, and create new risks to safety, rights, and social cohesion.
The report outlines a clear three-stage approach: adopt available tools, tailor them to local circumstances, and gradually progress towards frontier AI development. This framework is designed to help developing countries navigate the AI landscape and harness its potential for inclusive growth.
