Nigeria has emerged as one of the leading nations in youth artificial intelligence readiness across the Commonwealth. The country ranked 15th out of 56 nations in the newly released Ayre Index, according to a report by Realnews Magazine.
The findings were presented at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda. Nigeria scored 54.5 out of 100, just crossing the benchmark of 53 points set by the researchers. Across the entire Commonwealth, only 15 countries met this standard, with Mauritius and South Africa being the only other African nations to make the list.
The study, produced by a think tank established by Antiguan-Canadian philanthropist Calvin Ayre, examined opportunities for roughly 732 million people between ages 15 and 29. Nigeria itself holds about 65.7 million youths within this bracket. The research showed that 90 percent of surveyed young Nigerians plan to apply AI in their studies or careers within the coming year, which represents the highest share in the index.
Young Nigerians also demonstrated a strong drive to learn on the job. The report revealed that about 84 out of every 1,000 young people in the country were engaged in apprenticeships, internships, or traineeships. In an additional poll of university students who use ChatGPT, nearly 48 percent of Nigerian respondents said they regularly relied on the platform to research academic papers.
However, the assessment pointed out significant gaps in foundational digital competence. Nigeria recorded a score of only 0.8 out of 10 in digital, data, media, and AI capability. The researchers noted that this measure tracked traditional computer skills like programming and software installation rather than direct AI usage. The study also highlighted the prevalence of informal jobs and a shortage of high-skill employment for young adults.
The economic upside remains substantial. Based on scenarios from the International Monetary Fund, the study calculated that AI adoption could boost Nigeria’s economy by 5.234 billion dollars within ten years under a moderate outlook. In an optimistic scenario, the economic gain could climb to 7.851 billion dollars.
The federal government has initiated several tech projects in 2026 to address these gaps. These efforts include the 3 Million Technical Talent programme, the AI Academy Nigeria launched in partnership with Meta, and a National AI Innovation Challenge built around N-ATLAS, a model supporting Nigerian English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba.
