A World Bank study suggests artificial intelligence offers developing economies an unprecedented opportunity to address longstanding challenges, though success depends on urgent investments in infrastructure, skills and institutional capacity.

Developing countries could compress a century of economic progress into ten years through artificial intelligence adoption, according to the World Bank Group's World Development Report 2026. The report identifies AI as a potential lifeline for nations experiencing their weakest average growth rates in three decades, though realizing this opportunity requires governments to act decisively on critical infrastructure gaps.

Unlike high-income nations where over 14 percent of jobs face automation risks, only 4.5 percent of positions in developing economies are vulnerable to replacement by generative AI. Meanwhile, approximately 16.2 percent of jobs in low and middle-income countries could experience significant productivity improvements through AI integration, nearing the 18.7 percent projected for wealthy nations. The World Bank emphasizes that the technology's greatest value lies in enhancing human capabilities rather than displacing workers.

According to World Bank officials, developing nations need not invest in massive data centres or frontier AI systems to benefit. Locally adapted, affordable solutions could improve healthcare diagnostics, agricultural decision-making, education delivery and public administration including tax collection and disaster management. However, the report cautions that without targeted intervention, AI could exacerbate global inequality, concentrate corporate power and create new risks around privacy and social stability.

The World Bank recommends a phased strategy beginning with adoption of existing tools, progressing to local adaptation, and eventually building advanced capabilities. Critical prerequisites include reliable electricity access—currently unavailable to nearly one-third of rural schools in Sub-Saharan Africa—dependable internet connectivity, expanded computing resources and local-language data availability. The report stresses that public trust and evidence-based policymaking will prove essential to successful implementation.