Uzbekistan ranked 142nd out of 147 countries in the Global AI Diffusion ranking compiled by Microsoft’s AI Economy Institute. Tajikistan is among the countries at the very bottom of the table together with Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Burundi. The ranking is based on the Global AI Diffusion Q1 2026 report published on Microsoft’s website.
According to the report, 7.2% of Uzbekistan’s residents aged 15 to 64 used generative AI in the first quarter of 2026. Burkina Faso ranked below Uzbekistan, while Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Burundi all posted the same indicator of 6.1%. Among Central Asian states, Kazakhstan showed the best result with an adoption rate of 15.8%, followed by Kyrgyzstan with 9.5%.
At the top of the ranking is the United Arab Emirates, where the share of AI users among the population aged 15–64 reached 70.1%. Second place went to Singapore with 63.4%, and third to Norway with 48.6%; Ireland and France also made the top five. The United States ranked 21st with 31.3%, while Russia placed 117th with a usage rate of 9.5%.
Microsoft notes that AI usage continues to grow worldwide. In the first quarter of 2026, the share of generative AI users among the working‑age population rose from 16.3% to 17.8%. At the same time, the gap between countries of the Global North and the Global South continues to widen.
Uzbekistan, however, is actively developing AI technologies. In early November this year, the Senate of the Oliy Majlis (parliament) approved a law regulating this field. The document defines the concept of “artificial intelligence,” sets out the main directions of state policy in this area and lays down rules for the use of AI in the creation and operation of information systems. It also contains provisions on the protection of personal data and the prevention of the illegal dissemination of such information in the media and on the internet. AI‑generated resources, the law stresses, must not harm a person’s life, health, freedom, honour or dignity, nor violate other rights.
Commenting on the importance of the new legislation, Senator Malika Kadirkhanova said AI technologies are rapidly penetrating education, healthcare, agriculture and public administration. According to her, earlier forecasts suggested that AI could add 15 trillion dollars to the global economy over the next five years, but analysts have now raised that estimate to 20 trillion. Kadirkhanova underlined Uzbekistan’s determination to keep pace with global trends, noting that the country has adopted a Strategy for the Development of AI Technologies until 2030.
The need to advance AI development is also being discussed in Tajikistan. In 2022, President Emomali Rahmon approved the National Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence until 2040, making Tajikistan the first Central Asian country to adopt an official national‑level AI development programme.
