40 National AI Strategies

Artificial intelligence is now a pillar of national power, woven into economic competitiveness, productivity, public services, defense, and diplomacy. In 2025, most major economies have either refreshed their national AI strategies or are actively updating them. Compared to the first wave of national AI strategies (2017–2021), developed prior to the Generative AI boom, today’s plans give greater weight to compute access, safety and standards, talent pipelines, sovereign data, and dual-use guardrails alongside innovation and industry growth.

A clear pattern is regulatory divergence with a measure of practical convergence. The EU AI Act is set to define implementation across Europe and influence partners well beyond the EU, while the U.S., UK, Singapore, and others rely more on executive action, assurance frameworks, and standards bodies. In countries without a single “strategy” document, the approach increasingly takes the form of sectoral plans, compute initiatives, and safety playbooks that together serve as a functional equivalent to a unified national strategy.

Geopolitical considerations now shape AI policy as much as advanced technology ecosystems or innovation metrics. Export controls, chip supply security, sovereign cloud and compute programs, and technology alliances are built directly into national AI agendas. Many governments are pairing dedicated funds and shared infrastructure with public-service delivery goals, as well as new testing and safety regimes designed to support both domestic priorities and international cooperation.

Global Leaders

These five “Global Leaders” continue to set the global pace in AI through a balanced blend of strategic investment and governance. Their policies consistently incorporate compute infrastructure, safety protocols for foundation models, and diplomatic engagement around exports and standards. Dual-use risk management emerges as a critical concern—these nations carefully negotiate the tension between technological ambition and safeguarding national security and public trust.

A common thread across these strategies is state capacity. Each government has either established specialist agencies or deployed cross-ministerial coordination with dedicated mission budgets, enabling regular policy refreshes and agile responses. Going forward, competition over AI infrastructure—particularly chips and cloud systems—as well as public-sector AI deployments and diagnostic mechanisms (such as benchmarks, red-teaming, and auditing) will intensify.

🇺🇸 United States — The U.S. has now released America’s AI Action Plan (July 2025), a 90+ action roadmap spanning three pillars—Accelerating Innovation, Building American AI Infrastructure, and Leading International Diplomacy and Security—alongside new initiatives like the American AI Exports Program and streamlined permitting for tech infrastructure

🇨🇳 China — Its New Generation AI Development Plan (2017), issued by the State Council, underpins a state-led push toward AI leadership by 2030, with coordinated targets across research, talent, and industrial innovation.

🇫🇷 France — Rolling out under its France 2030 investment agenda, the national AI strategy, Make France an AI Powerhouse, intensifies support for AI research and industrial innovation, aiming to establish France as a European powerhouse.

🇸🇬 Singapore — Through National AI Strategy 2.0 (2023) (Official overview), Singapore emphasizes trustworthy deployment in public services and exports governance innovations like the “AI Verify” framework.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom — The National AI Strategy (2021) remains a strategic anchor, complemented by recent regulatory updates, and propels the UK into a leadership position in both innovation and AI governance.

G7 / EU

The G7 and EU group approach national AI strategy through a blend of industrial policy, public-sector digital transformation, and coordinated governance. Their collective framework prioritizes the development of talent, the creation of innovation clusters, and investment in compute infrastructure, all underpinned by strong alignment with the EU AI Act. Within this common structure, individual countries emphasize different priorities: some accelerate industrial adoption and commercial innovation, while others focus on strengthening research excellence and delivering AI-enabled public services.

In the near term, this bloc is expected to advance detailed AI Act implementation plans, issue sector-specific guidance, and expand national compute programs supported by EU funding. Italy’s 2024–2026 National AI Strategy stands out as a current model, integrating research investment with targeted public–private collaboration. The Netherlands, building on its 2019 Strategic Action Plan for AI, has articulated a 2024 Government-wide Vision on Generative AI to address the challenges and opportunities of new AI capabilities. These examples reflect the group’s adaptive approach—anchoring policy in a shared regulatory framework while allowing for national variation in execution and emphasis.

🇨🇦 Canada. Pan‑Canadian AI Strategy (Phase II) renews and expands the world’s first national AI program with C$443 million in funding, strengthening research clusters in Montreal, Toronto, and Edmonton while accelerating AI adoption, advancing responsible AI standards, and improving access to compute infrastructure.

🇩🇪 Germany. AI Strategy—2020 Update (English) builds on Germany’s industrial strengths, committing over €5 billion to AI R&D, SME adoption, and ethical governance, while aligning national priorities with the EU AI Act and investing in European-scale compute capacity.

🇮🇹 Italy. Italian Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2024–2026 focuses on research, public-private collaboration, skills development, and sectoral deployment, backed by EU recovery funds, with an explicit commitment to human-centric, sustainable, and reliable AI solutions.

🇳🇱 Netherlands. The Government‑wide Vision on Generative AI (2024); base strategy: Strategic Action Plan for AI (2019), setting a comprehensive agenda for AI adoption, research, and governance, with a strong emphasis on SME participation, public-private partnerships, and ethical AI implementation.

🇪🇸 Spain. The ENIA – National AI Strategy (2020) and policy portal, part of Spain Digital 2025, directs €600 million toward AI research, SME support, public-sector adoption, and regulatory sandboxes, while embedding ethics and trust in alignment with EU frameworks.

Nordic–Baltic

Many Nordic–Baltic countries have built their AI strategies on decades of sustained investment in digital infrastructure and governance. These nations focus on trustworthy AI, the use of high-quality public data, advanced language technologies, and citizen-centric public services. Instead of relying on headline-grabbing, one-off initiatives, their approach is characterised by steady, iterative updates and well-executed public-sector deployments that reinforce both trust and utility.

Two standout models exemplify this regional approach. Estonia’s whole-of-government “Kratt/ÄKRATT” framework—now evolved into the Bürokratt digital assistant—demonstrates how a coordinated national platform can deliver AI-enabled services across ministries. Finland’s programmatic model is equally instructive, prioritising clear but light-touch rules, stable investment in AI skills, and integration of AI into existing service delivery systems. Together, these strategies highlight a philosophy of building durable, scalable AI capabilities embedded in strong public institutions and informed by a commitment to transparency, inclusion, and long-term resilience.

🇩🇰 Denmark. The National Strategy for AI (2019) sets out 24 initiatives to make Denmark a leader in ethical, human-centric AI, focusing on public-sector digitization, SME adoption, and high-trust governance grounded in strong data protection.

🇪🇪 Estonia. Through its evolving AI Strategy (2019–2026), branded “KrattAI” and now Bürokratt, Estonia delivers a whole-of-government AI platform, scaling pilots across ministries and embedding AI into everyday public services with agile regulation.

🇫🇮 Finland. The Leading the Way into the Age of AI — Final Report (2019) prioritizes inclusive, skills-driven adoption, coupling AI research investment with national initiatives like the AuroraAI service platform and the global “Elements of AI” education campaign.

🇳🇴 Norway. The National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (2020) emphasizes responsible AI in both public services and key industries such as energy and maritime, backed by targeted R&D funding and Norwegian-language data infrastructure.

🇸🇪 Sweden. The National Approach to AI (2018, English) integrates AI into Sweden’s digitalization agenda, fostering industry-led innovation, research excellence centers, and cross-sector collaboration without heavy new regulation.

Indo‑Pacific

The Indo-Pacific AI strategies reflect a pragmatic balance between innovation, governance, and global positioning. Across the region, governments are pursuing safety-first deployment frameworks, expanding access to compute resources, and developing export-oriented AI industries. Japan and South Korea stand out for their strong emphasis on research and development, advanced semiconductor capabilities, and leadership in shaping international AI standards. India’s 2024 IndiaAI Mission underscores its global-scale ambitions, placing shared compute infrastructure, large-scale national datasets, and extensive skills development programs at the heart of its approach.

Taiwan’s AI Action Plan 2.0 leverages its world-leading semiconductor industry to build resilience in AI supply chains and strengthen national capacity, pairing hardware dominance with targeted investments in AI talent and applications. Australia maintains a sustained focus on responsible AI adoption and enhancing public-sector capabilities, while periodically refreshing its ecosystem support programs to remain competitive. Together, these strategies showcase the region’s commitment to coupling technical excellence with policies that address both domestic priorities and international engagement.

🇦🇺 Australia. The Artificial Intelligence Action Plan (2021) outlines a national roadmap for responsible AI adoption, focusing on priority sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and resources, while investing in AI skills, research centers, and ethics frameworks to support trusted innovation.

🇮🇳 India. The IndiaAI Mission (2024) sets out an ambitious program to establish national compute infrastructure, curated datasets, and large-scale skilling initiatives, positioning India as a global AI innovation hub and a leader in inclusive, affordable AI solutions.

🇯🇵 Japan. The AI Strategy 2022, aligned with the Society 5.0 vision, prioritizes human-centric AI, international standards leadership, and industrial applications, backed by significant R&D funding and large-scale workforce training programs.

🇰🇷 South Korea. The National Strategy for AI (2019, English) aims to make Korea one of the world’s top five AI powers by 2030 through investments in AI chips, public-sector adoption, startup growth, and an ethics charter guiding responsible deployment.

🇹🇼 Taiwan. The AI Action Plan (Executive Yuan) / Action Plan 2.0 leverages Taiwan’s semiconductor industry to strengthen AI capacity and resilience, expanding research centers, talent development, and public-sector applications while maintaining strong transparency and trust principles.

Southeast Asia

The Southeast Asia AI policy bloc is prioritizing foundational capacity building as the basis for long-term competitiveness. Governments across the region are investing in talent development, expanding access to data resources, building compute infrastructure, and digitizing core government services. At the same time, they are beginning to establish industry hubs designed to anchor domestic AI ecosystems. Thailand and Vietnam have both adopted multi-year national AI strategies, setting structured timelines for implementation. The Philippines has launched an updated national AI roadmap alongside the creation of a dedicated AI research center, while Indonesia’s 2020–2045 strategy embeds AI development within its Making Indonesia 4.0 industrial modernization agenda.

Over the next several years, these countries are expected to make rapid advances in national data infrastructure and in AI applications tied to their strongest export sectors—particularly business process outsourcing (BPO), fintech, healthcare, and logistics. Governance frameworks are increasingly oriented toward building public trust and facilitating international collaboration, with ethics guidelines and assurance mechanisms that align with emerging global norms. Collectively, the region’s approach reflects a deliberate sequencing: first secure the skills, infrastructure, and trust foundations, then scale up industrial applications for both domestic and international markets.

🇮🇩 Indonesia. The National AI Strategy 2020–2045 embeds AI into the Making Indonesia 4.0 agenda, prioritizing health, education, mobility, food security, and bureaucratic reform, with investments in national AI centers, data infrastructure, and talent pipelines to support long-term industrial transformation.

🇲🇾 Malaysia. The National AI Roadmap 2021–2025 charts a path to position Malaysia as an ASEAN AI hub, focusing on smart manufacturing, Islamic finance, and smart cities, supported by a national ethics framework, AI parks, and targeted talent development programs.

🇵🇭 Philippines. The National AI Strategy Roadmap 2.0 (2024) updates the country’s vision to become a regional AI Center of Excellence, expanding BPO and data services into AI-powered industries, launching a national AI research center, and incentivizing startup innovation.

🇹🇭 Thailand. The National AI Strategy & Action Plan 2022–2027 aligns with the Thailand 4.0 vision, deploying AI in agriculture, healthcare, and smart cities, while establishing R&D programs, public–private partnerships, and governance measures for ethical AI use.

🇻🇳 Vietnam. The National Strategy on R&D and Application of AI to 2030 (2021) sets ambitious targets to rank among the top four ASEAN AI leaders, focusing on building AI research hubs, training 20,000 specialists, and fostering 50+ domestic AI enterprises.

Middle East and North Africa

In the MENA region, national AI strategies are anchored by a combination of large-scale investment, infrastructure development, and strategic international partnerships. The Gulf states, in particular, have positioned themselves as regional AI leaders: Saudi Arabia’s National Strategy for Data and AI (NSDAI) and the UAE’s AI 2031 program both channel significant resources into building national compute capacity, attracting global AI talent, and embedding AI in key sectors such as government services, healthcare, and energy. Israel’s national program is more research- and startup-driven, closely tied to its advanced security technology ecosystem, while Egypt’s recently refreshed 2025–2030 National AI Strategy signals a commitment to expanding talent development, Arabic-language AI capabilities, and domestic innovation capacity.

Policy in this bloc is shaped by heightened security sensitivity. Dual-use concerns, export controls, and the establishment of sovereign data centers feature prominently, reflecting the strategic importance of AI to both economic diversification and national defense. While some countries have codified their strategies in detailed statutory documents, others continue to operate from programmatic booklets or evolving frameworks, allowing for flexibility but also signalling ongoing shifts in direction. This dynamic environment suggests that MENA’s AI policy landscape will continue to adapt quickly, balancing ambitions for global leadership with the imperatives of security, sovereignty, and regional competitiveness.

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia. The National Strategy for Data & AI (2020), led by the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA), sets the ambition to rank among the top 15 AI nations by 2030 through giga-scale investment in compute infrastructure, talent development, sectoral deployment, and global AI diplomacy.

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates. The UAE National AI Strategy 2031 outlines a nationwide vision to integrate AI across government, industry, and education, supported by dedicated AI labs, international research partnerships, and incentives to attract global AI leaders to the Emirates.

🇮🇱 Israel. The Israel National AI Program (2024) builds on the country’s deep startup ecosystem and defense-tech expertise, aiming to advance dual-use innovation, strengthen academic AI research, and create ethical and governance frameworks to support rapid deployment.

🇮🇷 Iran. While public English-language access to the full National AI Document is limited, government-affiliated sources indicate a focus on technological self-reliance, domestic AI R&D, and applications in areas such as defense, healthcare, and language processing, designed to reduce dependence on foreign technology under sanctions.

🇪🇬 Egypt. The Egypt National AI Strategy — Second Edition (2025–2030) renews the country’s commitment to AI capacity-building with a focus on Arabic-language AI, skills development, and sectoral applications in health, transportation, and public administration, while fostering an investment-friendly and ethically governed AI ecosystem.

BRICS+ (Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Türkiye, North Korea)

The BRICS+ grouping—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—has, in this context, been broadened to include additional countries closely connected to or aligned with BRICS partners, notably Türkiye and North Korea. This expanded set reflects a mix of core BRICS members and strategically associated states that share certain geopolitical alignments or development priorities in AI.

Within this group, national approaches vary significantly. Brazil’s Estratégia Brasileira de Inteligência Artificial (EBIA) centers on robust data governance, ethical guidelines, and the integration of AI into high-impact sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and public services. Russia’s 2019 Presidential Decree on AI frames its strategy around technological sovereignty, prioritizing domestic R&D, homegrown AI platforms, and independence from foreign suppliers, a focus intensified by sanctions. Türkiye’s National AI Strategy 2021–2025 targets industry competitiveness and skills development, promoting AI adoption in manufacturing, defense, and government while scaling specialist training. South Africa continues to work through its Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution to convert high-level policy recommendations into tangible programs for AI in areas like mining safety, agriculture, and service delivery.

North Korea, while lacking a publicly disclosed AI strategy, is believed—based on open-source intelligence—to be developing AI capabilities primarily for military applications, including autonomous systems, cyber operations, and surveillance. Across this expanded BRICS+ cohort, the next stage of progress will depend on moving from policy frameworks to concrete implementation. Key areas include building compute infrastructure, accelerating public-sector digitization, and fostering resilient domestic AI ecosystems. By including states beyond the formal BRICS bloc but strategically linked to it, this grouping illustrates a wider network of countries seeking to harness AI in ways that reinforce sovereignty, economic leverage, and geopolitical alignment.

🇧🇷 Brazil. The Estratégia Brasileira de Inteligência Artificial (2021) establishes a framework for ethical, transparent AI adoption, emphasizing data governance, sectoral applications in agriculture, healthcare, and industry, and measures to foster innovation through research, startups, and public–private partnerships.

🇷🇺 Russia. The Presidential Decree No. 490 on AI Development (2019, English translation) defines a sovereignty-driven AI strategy aimed at reducing reliance on foreign technologies, investing heavily in domestic R&D, and prioritizing applications in defense, security, and national infrastructure.

🇿🇦 South Africa. The Report of the Presidential Commission on the 4IR (2020) outlines recommendations to position South Africa as an African AI leader, with a focus on skills development, industry adoption, public-sector modernization, and inclusive economic growth through emerging technologies.

🇹🇷 Türkiye. The National AI Strategy 2021–2025 (English) seeks to boost industry competitiveness and global positioning by expanding AI talent, supporting R&D, encouraging cross-sector AI adoption, and building ethical governance frameworks in line with international standards.

🇰🇵 North Korea. No official national AI strategy is publicly available; however, open-source analysis, including 38 North’s research on DPRK AI activity, indicates growing military-focused AI research in areas such as autonomous systems, surveillance, and cyber capabilities.

Latin America and Sub Saharan Africa

Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa represent a diverse landscape of AI policy maturity, with countries at very different stages of strategy development and execution. In Latin America, Chile and Argentina have both published national AI policies, though their momentum in implementation has varied. Colombia took a significant step forward in 2025 with the approval of a dedicated National AI Policy (CONPES 4144), providing a structured roadmap for AI adoption across sectors. Mexico, while lacking a single, comprehensive national AI strategy, has demonstrated policy activity through sectoral initiatives and participation in external studies. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria emerged as a leading voice with the launch of its National AI Strategy in 2024, signaling a strong commitment to integrating AI into national development planning.

Across this LATAM+Sub-Saharan Africa bloc, several unifying themes are visible. Strategies emphasize skills development and inclusion, aiming to ensure AI adoption benefits diverse populations and addresses inequality. Data infrastructure is a critical focus, with investments in open data platforms, language processing for local languages, and digital public goods. Public-service AI applications—ranging from health diagnostics and education technology to traffic management—are seen as immediate, high-impact use cases. There is also a clear economic dimension: countries are targeting competitiveness in agriculture, mining and energy, and financial services through AI innovation. Looking ahead, movement is expected on compute partnerships to secure access to high-performance infrastructure and the introduction of regulatory sandboxes to accelerate safe innovation. Together, these priorities indicate a regionally diverse but increasingly coordinated effort to position AI as both a tool for development and a lever for economic growth.

🇲🇽 Mexico. While Mexico does not yet have a single, nationwide AI strategy in force, it has pursued AI policy through sectoral programs, research partnerships, and participation in multilateral initiatives, with its profile and priorities outlined in the UNESCO AI policy overview.

🇦🇷 Argentina. The Plan Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (2019) sets out Argentina’s vision for ethical AI development, promoting research, innovation, and public-sector adoption, with a focus on local language technologies and socially inclusive applications.

🇨🇱 Chile. The Política Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (2021–2030) provides a long-term roadmap centered on human-centric AI, public trust, and sectoral transformation in areas such as education, health, and sustainable urban development.

🇨🇴 Colombia. The Política Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial – CONPES 4144 (2025) offers a comprehensive framework to accelerate AI adoption across government and industry, strengthen data infrastructure, and develop talent, positioning Colombia as a regional AI leader.

🇳🇬 Nigeria. The Nigeria National AI Strategy (2024 draft/final, NITDA/NCAIR), prioritizes capacity building, innovation funding, and the integration of AI into critical sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and financial services, while establishing governance standards for responsible AI.

What to Watch Next

Over the coming years, several trends are likely to shape the evolution of national AI strategies. First, governments are expected to expand investments in compute infrastructure and semiconductor capability. This will include the rollout of national and shared compute programs, targeted incentives for data center construction, and deeper partnerships with hyperscale cloud providers and chip manufacturers. Such measures aim to secure domestic access to the processing power essential for AI development and deployment.

Second, assurance and safety frameworks will become increasingly sophisticated. Testing protocols, auditing mechanisms, and incident reporting systems are expected to mature, often anchored in recognized international standards. These frameworks will likely be tied to access requirements for foundation models, ensuring that powerful AI systems are subject to rigorous oversight before public or commercial use.

Third, public-sector AI delivery will be a major proving ground for national strategies. While many governments promise AI-enabled citizen services, the real differentiators will be procurement reform, interoperability between agencies and systems, and the quality of underlying data. Effective execution in these areas will determine whether public-sector AI initiatives deliver tangible benefits.

Finally, international coordination is gaining importance. Countries are increasingly aligning through standards bodies and plurilateral initiatives such as the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), while managing the tension between openness and national security imperatives. This balancing act will shape both the pace and the scope of global AI collaboration.

Notes on Sources and Recency

All references in this report link to the most recent major government strategy or program document available in English, or to an authoritative translation where necessary. In cases where a single, unified national AI strategy does not exist, links are provided to the most credible official overview or recognized policy analysis.

Where a country has both a foundational strategy and a more recent update—such as the Netherlands’ 2024 Government-wide Vision on Generative AI or India’s 2024 IndiaAI Mission—the newer document is presented first to reflect the latest policy direction. This approach ensures that the analysis is grounded in the most current publicly available information, while maintaining the historical context necessary for understanding the trajectory of each country’s AI strategy.