Arab AI Governance Lab
ENFRع

Areas of work

AI research and publications

Whether scientific output on AI translates into capacity to govern it.

Key messages

  • Saudi Arabia (1,189), Iraq (679) and Egypt (669) led indexed AI publications in 2023 among states with data.
  • Research output and regulatory maturity do not develop in step: Iraq, Jordan and Algeria hold research communities larger than their regulatory stage would suggest.
  • These research communities constitute absorptive capacity for regulators; formal advisory links between universities and AI authorities remain rare.
  • UAE publication counts are missing from the 2025 release, so comparisons cover states with data only.

Saudi Arabia (1,189), Iraq (679) and Egypt (669) led indexed AI publications in 2023 among states with data. Iraq, Jordan and Algeria sustain research communities larger than their regulatory stage would suggest; these communities constitute absorptive capacity on which regulators can draw. UAE publication counts are missing from the 2025 release.

Figure 7Iraq produces more indexed AI research than Egypt, and is second only to Saudi Arabia among states with data
Select flags to add or remove states. Source: OECD.AI observatory, Scopus fractional counts, table F2. UAE counts are not available in this release; 2024 counts are incomplete and shown in the table only.
Figure 8Research volume and regulatory maturity do not move in step: Iraq, Jordan and Algeria hold research communities larger than their regulatory stage would suggest
Source: tables F1 and F2.
Figure 9Nine states report research spending; the UAE (1.49% of GDP) and Egypt (1.03%) report the highest shares
UAE1.49%EGY1.03%TUN0.75%QAT0.68%SAU0.56%OMN0.37%KWT0.10%IRQ0.04%MRT0.01%
Source: World Bank WDI, latest available year, table F3. Nine states report a value.
Table 3AI publications by state and year
StateStage20202021202220232024 (incomplete)R&D (% GDP)
SAUAdvanced6857938291,1897270.56%
IRQEmerging4325596436794480.04%
EGYIntermediate4705216176693931.03%
TUNIntermediate3202683693572130.75%
JORInitial242263293281218n/a
MAREmerging162184202234144n/a
DZAInitial107141154178128n/a
QATAdvanced11111995126670.68%
OMNEmerging48526059610.37%
LBYNascent2244302835n/a
BHRIntermediate1519302516n/a
LBNNascent2927282418n/a
SDNNascent183023207n/a
SYRNascent272024178n/a
KWTInitial2224311690.10%
PSENascent511634n/a
MRTInitialn/a1n/a1n/a0.01%
UAEAdvancedn/an/an/an/an/a1.49%
YEMNascentn/an/an/an/an/an/a

Note. Fractional counts. 2024 values are lower because of indexing lag. Comoros, Djibouti and Somalia are at the Nascent stage; their indicator values are not displayed in the 2025 release.

The Lab designs and delivers capacity building for ministries, regulators, data protection authorities and regional bodies: executive programmes, regulator training and institutional development, grounded in its comparative evidence and delivered in Arabic, English or French.

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Other areas

Regulatory and legal frameworksAI readiness and digital governmentDigital infrastructureAI, culture and communicationGovernance typologyHuman capital and capacityCybersecurity