Developing countries could use artificial intelligence to accelerate progress in critical sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture and judicial services, the World Bank said in its World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence.
The report, released Tuesday, said small and low-cost AI tools adapted to local needs could help developing economies achieve in a decade what might otherwise take a century. However, governments must act quickly to address gaps in electricity, internet access, digital skills and institutional capacity.
“AI has thrown developing economies a lifeline, and they should seize it,” said Indermit Gill, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank Group. Gill said locally adapted AI tools could make better medical care, education, judicial services and agricultural extension accessible to millions.
“But they must hurry: AI is spreading faster and is more context-specific than earlier general-purpose technologies like electricity and the internet. World Development Report 2026 shows how developing countries are responding, and succeeding,” he said.
The report found that workers in high-income countries are more than 3 times more likely to face automation risks from generative AI. About 14.2% of existing jobs in high-income countries are at risk, compared with 4.5% in developing economies.
At the same time, AI could deliver major productivity gains. The report estimates that 16.2% of jobs in developing economies could see meaningful productivity improvements, compared with 18.7% in high-income countries.
The World Bank said AI’s biggest opportunity for developing economies may be enhancing worker productivity rather than replacing jobs. Governments and businesses are already using AI to analyse information, improve forecasting, solve problems and deliver public services at scale.
The technology could also strengthen tax administration, social welfare programmes, disaster response, healthcare and education.
“Developing economies today are in the midst of their weakest average growth performance in three decades. AI could significantly boost that performance before the end of the 2020s while delivering tangible benefits to people,” the report finds.
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