The World Bank Group has said artificial intelligence has the potential to help developing countries achieve decades of economic progress within a much shorter period if governments move quickly to close critical infrastructure and skills gaps.
In its World Development Report 2026 titled “The Promise of Artificial Intelligence,” released on Tuesday, the institution projected that AI could boost productivity in 16.2 percent of jobs across developing economies, compared to 18.7 percent in high income countries.
The report also noted that jobs in wealthier nations are far more exposed to automation through generative AI than those in low and middle income countries. It estimated that 14.2 percent of jobs in high income economies are at risk of automation, compared with 4.5 percent in developing nations.
World Bank Chief Economist, Indermit Gill, said developing economies do not need expensive large scale AI models or massive data centres to benefit from the technology.
According to him, affordable AI solutions can improve healthcare, education, judicial services, and agricultural extension.
He urged governments to accelerate adoption efforts, stressing that:
“AI is spreading faster and is more context specific than earlier general purpose technologies like electricity and the internet.”
The report stated that AI is already helping individuals, businesses, and governments solve complex problems, analyse information, improve forecasting, and expand service delivery, particularly in countries with limited skilled professionals, weak record keeping systems, and constrained public sector capacity.
It identified several benefits of AI, including improving farmers’ crop decisions, supporting medical diagnosis, increasing business productivity, strengthening tax collection, enhancing social intervention programmes, improving disaster response, and advancing healthcare and education.
With developing economies experiencing their weakest average growth performance in three decades, the World Bank believes artificial intelligence could significantly improve economic growth before the end of the 2020s while delivering meaningful benefits to citizens.
However, the report warned that these gains are not guaranteed because most advanced AI systems are currently being developed by a small number of countries and companies, while many developing nations still face challenges such as inadequate electricity supply, limited internet access, insufficient data, skills shortages, and weak institutions.
“Developing countries that build the foundations now, power, connectivity, skills, and institutions, will be positioned to adopt and adapt AI for their people,” said Gaurav Nayyar, Director of the World Development Report 2026.
The World Bank also highlighted its ongoing collaboration with partners to expand electricity access across Africa and urged governments to improve access to computing power while increasing the availability of local data, including data in indigenous languages, to ensure AI tools better serve citizens and national economies.
The report further advised governments to create an enabling environment for innovation.
“Many AI pilots are already underway, but the bigger challenge is knowing which ones deliver results. Governments should make it easier for new firms to attract investment, test ideas, and scale what works,” the report stated.
