Artificial intelligence adoption has been on the rise globally, but new data shows that some countries are significantly outperforming others, while the gap between advanced and developing countries is widening.
The United Arab Emirates and Singapore stand out, with over 60 percent of the population using some form of generative artificial intelligence tool in the past year, according to a recent report from Microsoft, which assesses the spread of artificial intelligence around the world.
Both countries are also increasing the number of data centers, despite high temperatures that make their operation more challenging, reports theeconomist.
In contrast, in South and Central America, 14 of 24 countries have adoption rates below 20 percent, including Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil.
According to the report, the majority of artificial intelligence use in the region comes from government agencies, while private companies lag behind due to high costs and lack of technical skills.
While South Korea ranks 18th for artificial intelligence use, it recorded the largest growth last year, largely thanks to growing use in the workplace.
The country's adoption rate rose from nearly 26 percent in the first half of 2025 to 30 percent by the end of the year. Encouraged by this rapid pace, OpenAI opened an office in Seoul in September.
By the end of 2025, ChatGPT became the most popular smartphone app in the country.
Other countries in the region, such as India, the Philippines, and Malaysia, saw slight increases in the use of artificial intelligence, with tools like ChatGPT and Gemini among the most widely used.
However, the overall adoption of artificial intelligence in Asian and African countries still lags behind their counterparts in the West.
Despite ChatGPT's dominance, DeepSeek has managed to capitalize on markets where US-based tools may be limited.
It has secured significant market share in various countries, including its home market in China (89 percent), as well as Belarus (56 percent), Russia (43 percent), Cuba (49 percent) and several African countries, where overall adoption of artificial intelligence still remains low. /Telegraph/
