Get Guardian on GoogleNigeria has secured a place among just 15 Commonwealth countries meeting a new youth AI readiness benchmark, ranking 15th out of 56 nations in a major study unveiled at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda. Only two other African Commonwealth members – Mauritius and South Africa – make the cut.
The Ayre Index, the first comparative assessment of the conditions affecting young people’s readiness to benefit from artificial intelligence across all 56 Commonwealth countries, scores Nigeria 54.5 out of 100 against the benchmark of 53. Nigeria is the final country above that line; 41 members fall below it.
The inaugural White Paper by the think tank established by the Antiguan-Canadian philanthropist Calvin Ayre brings together 1,128 research sources to examine the opportunities facing approximately 732 million young people aged 15 to 29.
The findings are particularly encouraging for Nigeria, which has approximately 65.7 million young people aged 15 to 29. Some 90% of young Nigerian respondents in the research expected to use AI for education or work within the following year, the highest reported share in the Index, while 67.8% said they felt confident controlling their interactions with the technology. Nigeria scores 8.7 out of 10 in the Index for motivation and confidence – a powerful indication of young people’s appetite to participate in the AI economy.
Nigeria also performs strongly in work-based learning. Around 84 in every 1,000 young Nigerians were recorded in apprenticeships, internships or traineeships – the highest rate among the 31 Commonwealth countries with comparable data. In a separate international survey of university students aged 18 to 29 who already used ChatGPT, 47.8% of Nigerian respondents were found to say they often or always used it to find information for research papers, the highest share among the countries in that comparison.
Despite these encouraging findings, Nigeria scores just 0.8 out of 10 for digital, data, media and AI capability under the Index’s selected measures. This score relies mainly on a household survey measuring conventional computer skills, such as installing software and writing computer programs, rather than young people’s current ability to use AI. The study also records widespread informal employment and relatively few 25 to 29-year-olds in high-skill occupations. The challenge now is to turn young Nigerians’ enthusiasm and entrepreneurial energy into practical skills, successful businesses and more secure jobs.
he potential economic benefits of AI are considerable for Nigeria. Applying scenarios developed by the International Monetary Fund to the country’s economy, researchers calculate that AI could increase the level of Nigeria’s GDP by US$5.234 billion after ten years under their moderate scenario. The conservative estimate is US$2.617 billion, rising to US$7.851 billion in the optimistic case.
Calvin Ayre, founder of the Ayre Think Tank, said: “I’ve spent my life in businesses where new technology changes everything, and I know you can’t stand still. AI is going to change how we work, how we do business and how wealth is created. But this is not a race that only the biggest or richest countries can win. What matters is giving young people the skills and the chance to get ahead – whether to start businesses, find jobs or build something for themselves. Some Commonwealth countries are ahead, others have catching up to do. Nobody can afford to be complacent.
That’s why we created this Index. It shows countries where they stand, what they’re getting right and where they need to do better. Governments now have to decide what they’re going to do about it.”
Nigeria is already taking steps to turn its enthusiasm for technology into employment and business opportunities. The government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme is training Nigerians in digital skills including AI and machine learning, with a new partnership network launched in March 2026. In August, the government and Meta also launched AI Academy Nigeria to provide practical AI training, technical support and opportunities for startups.
In September 2026, the government also launched a National AI Innovation Challenge, encouraging Nigerian developers, universities and startups to build practical applications using N-ATLAS, an AI model supporting Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Nigerian English. These initiatives will help develop local technology and businesses, while stronger links between training, employers and investment will help turn Nigeria’s technological strengths into successful enterprises, better jobs and rising incomes.
The White Paper identifies five priorities: affordable and reliable access to technology; education that develops practical skills; stronger routes from training into employment and enterprise; AI tools suited to local languages and needs; and safeguards that enable young people to question automated decisions.
It calls on governments, educators and development partners to better understand the particular barriers young people face in each country before deciding where investment can make the greatest impact.
Professor C. Justin Robinson, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal of the University of the West Indies, Five
Islands Campus, said: “We need to make sure that the next generation will be able to do more than just consume AI products made elsewhere. Access must come with its own agency and a real equitable stake in how these systems are governed. Young people should be equipped to question these new tools, to improve them and to be supported in building alternatives suited to their own needs. Whether that happens, will depend on choices made now. This index gives a clearer view of where those choices are most urgent. We should use it.”
