SATURDAY, OCT 31, 20262026 EDITION · 17 INDICATORS
Country profile
01

Executive summary

Current standing, trajectory, and source coverage.

Middle East & Africa · #45 in region

Gambia

#154 globally
↑Positive(+2)
19/100 by 2028
16/ 100

AI Readiness Score

Limited coverageiCoverage describes source availability, not statistical certainty.
Live
0/23
Years
Not reported
Fallback
100%
02

Readiness and Adoption

Capacity to build AI compared with evidence of AI use today.

Readiness

16/100Capacity across five enabling pillars

Adoption

16/100Nascent Adoption

Trajectory

+2/10Positive

Readiness vs Adoption: Radar

Blue = readiness capacity · Green = active adoption · Each axis pairs the closest dimension from each framework

Gambia readiness and adoption comparison
Dimension pairReadinessAdoption
Infra / Gov4/203/20
Talent / Demand4/202/20
Governance / Enterprise5/203/20
Investment / Pipeline2/203/20
Economy / Consumer1/205/20

Adoption dimensions

Government Deployment3/20
Enterprise Adoption3/20
Talent Demand2/20
Consumer Usage5/20
R&D Pipeline3/20
03

Pillar evidence

Scores, supporting evidence, and the exact inputs behind each contribution.

Infrastructure

Africell and QCell providing 4G/LTE; improving urban connectivity

4/20
  • WACS cable landing in Banjul improving international bandwidth
  • Very small geography (10,000 km²) aids coverage deployment
View score inputs
Infrastructure score inputs and contributions
InputValueYearSourceContributionStatus
Fixed broadband subscriptionsFixed broadband subscriptions unavailable; used 6/20 of the static Infrastructure baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorld Bank Open Data1.2 / 6 ptsFallback
Individuals using the internetIndividuals using the internet unavailable; used 3/20 of the static Infrastructure baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorld Bank Open Data0.6 / 3 ptsFallback
Mobile subscriptionsMobile subscriptions unavailable; used 3/20 of the static Infrastructure baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorld Bank Open Data0.6 / 3 ptsFallback
Access to electricityAccess to electricity unavailable; used 3/20 of the static Infrastructure baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorld Bank Open Data0.6 / 3 ptsFallback
Infrastructure quality baselineInfrastructure quality baseline unavailable; used 5/20 of the static Infrastructure baseline.Not availableNot reportedAI Trajectory Index1.0 / 5 ptsFallback

Talent

University of the Gambia with developing IT programmes

4/20
  • Small population (2.7M) with significant UK diaspora connections
  • Growing Banjul tech community with Gambia Tech Hub
View score inputs
Talent score inputs and contributions
InputValueYearSourceContributionStatus
Gross tertiary enrolmentGross tertiary enrolment unavailable; used 6/20 of the static Talent baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorld Bank Open Data1.2 / 6 ptsFallback
Labour productivityLabour productivity unavailable; used 6/20 of the static Talent baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorld Bank Open Data1.2 / 6 ptsFallback
ResearchersResearchers unavailable; used 2/20 of the static Talent baseline.Not availableNot reportedOECD Data Explorer0.4 / 2 ptsFallback
Global Innovation IndexGlobal Innovation Index unavailable; used 1/20 of the static Talent baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorld Intellectual Property Organization0.2 / 1 ptsFallback
Talent quality baselineTalent quality baseline unavailable; used 5/20 of the static Talent baseline.Not availableNot reportedAI Trajectory Index1.0 / 5 ptsFallback

Governance

Data Protection Act 2013 — one of West Africa's earlier frameworks

5/20
  • DICT digital transformation coordination improving
  • Democratic consolidation post-Jammeh (since 2017) improving governance quality
View score inputs
Governance score inputs and contributions
InputValueYearSourceContributionStatus
Rule of LawRule of Law unavailable; used 5/20 of the static Governance baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorldwide Governance Indicators1.3 / 5 ptsFallback
Government EffectivenessGovernment Effectiveness unavailable; used 4/20 of the static Governance baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorldwide Governance Indicators1.0 / 4 ptsFallback
Regulatory QualityRegulatory Quality unavailable; used 3/20 of the static Governance baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorldwide Governance Indicators0.8 / 3 ptsFallback
National AI strategyNational AI strategy unavailable; used 3/20 of the static Governance baseline.Not availableNot reportedOECD.AI Policy Observatory0.8 / 3 ptsFallback
AI strategy recencyAI strategy recency unavailable; used 2/20 of the static Governance baseline.Not availableNot reportedOECD.AI Policy Observatory0.5 / 2 ptsFallback
AI regulation in forceAI regulation in force unavailable; used 1/20 of the static Governance baseline.Not availableNot reportedOECD.AI Policy Observatory0.3 / 1 ptsFallback
Government AI readinessGovernment AI readiness unavailable; used 2/20 of the static Governance baseline.Not availableNot reportedOxford Insights0.5 / 2 ptsFallback

Investment

Very limited; development finance primary vehicle

2/20
  • GIEPA investment agency with tech mandate
  • Diaspora remittances significant relative to GDP
View score inputs
Investment score inputs and contributions
InputValueYearSourceContributionStatus
R&D expenditureR&D expenditure unavailable; used 6/20 of the static Investment baseline.Not availableNot reportedOECD Data Explorer, then World Bank Open Data0.6 / 6 ptsFallback
FDI net inflowsFDI net inflows unavailable; used 5/20 of the static Investment baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorld Bank Open Data0.5 / 5 ptsFallback
Government expenditureGovernment expenditure unavailable; used 3/20 of the static Investment baseline.Not availableNot reportedIMF DataMapper0.3 / 3 ptsFallback
Capital ecosystem baselineCapital ecosystem baseline unavailable; used 6/20 of the static Investment baseline.Not availableNot reportedAI Trajectory Index0.6 / 6 ptsFallback

Economic Readiness

2.7M population; tourism and agriculture economy

1/20
  • Mobile money slowly growing
  • Small economy requiring regional ECOWAS market access for any AI scale
View score inputs
Economic Readiness score inputs and contributions
InputValueYearSourceContributionStatus
GDP per capita, PPPGDP per capita, PPP unavailable; used 6/20 of the static Economic Readiness baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorld Bank Open Data0.3 / 6 ptsFallback
Private-sector creditPrivate-sector credit unavailable; used 3/20 of the static Economic Readiness baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorld Bank Open Data0.2 / 3 ptsFallback
Trade opennessTrade openness unavailable; used 3/20 of the static Economic Readiness baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorld Bank Open Data0.2 / 3 ptsFallback
Services value addedServices value added unavailable; used 3/20 of the static Economic Readiness baseline.Not availableNot reportedWorld Bank Open Data0.2 / 3 ptsFallback
Market capacity baselineMarket capacity baseline unavailable; used 5/20 of the static Economic Readiness baseline.Not availableNot reportedAI Trajectory Index0.3 / 5 ptsFallback
Government debt modifierGovernment debt modifier unavailable; no score adjustment was applied.Not availableNot reportedIMF DataMapper0.0 / 0 ptsFallback
04

Outlook and policy gaps

Forward direction, constraints, and a structured country brief.

Projected 2028

19/100+3 points from today

Top accelerator

UK diaspora connections and improving democratic governance creating international AI partnership potential

Top risk

Tiny economy and population creating no viable standalone AI ecosystem

Five-section brief

Country research brief

Generate a concise review of standing, infrastructure and talent, governance, investment, and economic outlook.

05

News and supporting tools

Recent signals, comparable economies, and optional analysis controls.

Live AI News Feed

The Guardian · Google News · Updated hourly

Analysis toolsWhat-if model, roadmap, AI Q&A, embed, and print controls
Open comparison

AI Development Roadmap

Algorithmic roadmap based on pillar scores · Updated with live data

◈Foundation Phase

Gambia is in the Foundation Phase

Building core digital and institutional capabilities. Projected score by 2028: 19/100.

2028 Timeline

▶

Now

Score 16

2

2025–26

National AI strategy adopted

3

2026–27

Digital connectivity baseline met

4

2028

First national AI lab established

Priority Actions — 3 Weakest Pillars

⬠Economic Readiness
1/20
Near

Expand financial inclusion; target 80% banked population by 2026

Mid

Develop AI-driven export diversification strategy beyond primary commodities

◇Investment & R&D
2/20
Near

Launch government-backed AI seed fund (≥$50M) for domestic startups

Mid

Negotiate bilateral R&D agreements with OECD partners; join CERN or equivalent

⬡Digital Infrastructure
4/20
Near

Launch national broadband expansion programme; target 50% fixed-line coverage

Mid

Deploy sovereign AI compute infrastructure and edge networks in major cities

Roadmap generated algorithmically from pillar scores and World Bank data. Actions are indicative policy priorities, not official government plans.