Education
Nigeria ranks 15th in Commonwealth youth AI readiness index – EnviroNews
– Advertisement –
Nigeria has ranked 15th out of 56 Commonwealth countries in a new assessment of young people’s readiness to benefit from artificial intelligence (AI), emerging as one of only 15 member states meeting the benchmark for youth AI preparedness.
The ranking places Nigeria among three African Commonwealth countries that met the benchmark, alongside Mauritius and South Africa, according to the inaugural Ayre Index unveiled at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda.
The study, which assesses the conditions influencing young people’s ability to benefit from AI across all 56 Commonwealth countries, awarded Nigeria 54.5 points out of 100, slightly above the benchmark of 53 points.
Nigeria was the last country to meet the threshold, while 41 Commonwealth members scored below it.
The inaugural White Paper, produced by the Ayre Think Tank established by Antiguan-Canadian philanthropist Calvin Ayre, draws on 1,128 research sources to examine opportunities and challenges facing approximately 732 million young people aged between 15 and 29 across the Commonwealth.
Nigeria’s performance is particularly significant given its estimated 65.7 million young people within the age group.
According to the study, 90 per cent of young Nigerian respondents expected to use AI for education or work within the following year, representing the highest proportion recorded in the Index.
It also found that 67.8 per cent of respondents felt confident about controlling their interactions with AI technology.
Nigeria scored 8.7 out of 10 in the motivation and confidence category, indicating strong interest among young people in participating in the emerging AI economy.
The country also performed strongly in work-based learning, with approximately 84 out of every 1,000 young Nigerians participating in apprenticeships, internships or traineeships.
This was the highest rate among the 31 Commonwealth countries with comparable data.
In a separate international survey involving university students aged 18 to 29 who already used ChatGPT, 47.8 per cent of Nigerian respondents said they often or always used the platform to find information for research papers, the highest proportion among the countries compared.
However, the report identified significant gaps in Nigeria’s digital and technical capabilities.
Despite young people’s enthusiasm for AI, Nigeria scored just 0.8 out of 10 in digital, data, media and AI capability under the Index’s selected indicators.
The assessment relied largely on household survey data measuring conventional computer skills, including installing software and writing computer programmes, rather than directly measuring young people’s current ability to use AI.
The study also highlighted widespread informal employment and the relatively low number of Nigerians aged 25 to 29 working in high-skilled occupations.
It warned that Nigeria’s major challenge would be converting young people’s interest in AI and entrepreneurial potential into practical technical skills, viable businesses and secure employment.
On the potential economic benefits, the researchers estimated that AI could increase Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) by $5.234 billion over 10 years under a moderate adoption scenario.
The conservative scenario projected an increase of $2.617 billion, while the optimistic scenario estimated potential gains of $7.851 billion.
The projections were calculated using scenarios developed by the International Monetary Fund and applied to Nigeria’s economy.
Speaking on the findings, Ayre, founder of the Ayre Think Tank, said AI would fundamentally transform employment, business operations and wealth creation, making it necessary for countries to equip young people with the skills and opportunities to participate in the emerging economy.
He stressed that success in AI development should not be determined solely by the economic size or resources of individual countries.
According to him, governments must understand their countries’ positions, identify existing weaknesses and take practical steps to prepare young people for technological changes.
Nigeria has already introduced several initiatives aimed at developing digital skills and expanding opportunities in the technology sector.
The Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme is training Nigerians in digital competencies, including AI and machine learning, while a new partnership network was launched in March 2026.
In August, the government and Meta launched AI Academy Nigeria to provide practical artificial intelligence training, technical support and opportunities for startups.
Similarly, the government launched a National AI Innovation Challenge in September 2026 to encourage developers, universities and startups to develop practical applications using N-ATLAS, an AI model supporting Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Nigerian English.
The report noted that such initiatives could strengthen local technology development and entrepreneurship, particularly if stronger connections were established between training institutions, employers and investors.
It identified five priority areas for improving youth AI readiness across Commonwealth countries.
These include ensuring affordable and reliable access to technology, strengthening education through practical skills development, creating clearer pathways from training to employment and entrepreneurship, developing AI tools suited to local languages and needs, and establishing safeguards that enable young people to question automated decisions.
Professor C. Justin Robinson, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal of the University of the West Indies, Five Islands Campus, said young people must be equipped to do more than consume AI products developed elsewhere.
He called for greater opportunities for young people to participate in the development, improvement and governance of AI systems, including building alternatives that respond to their local needs.
Robinson stressed that access to technology must be accompanied by the ability to influence how it is developed and deployed.
The report urged governments, educational institutions and development partners to understand the specific barriers facing young people in individual countries before deciding where investments would have the greatest impact.
It maintained that Nigeria’s strong youth interest in AI provides an opportunity to build a more competitive digital economy, provided the country addresses its skills gaps and creates pathways for young people to translate technological enthusiasm into productive employment and businesses.
