An analysis by Visual Capitalist using Microsoft data examined what share of the working-age population regularly uses artificial intelligence (AI) at work. Active users were defined as those who spend at least 90 minutes per month using AI tools. The global average share is currently 17.8 percent, according to Origo.
Global ranking: United Arab Emirates leads
Although the AI industry remains centered in the United States, the practical workplace adoption of AI is highest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where more than 70 percent of the working-age population uses AI. Singapore ranks second with 63 percent. Notably, the United States did not make the top 20 despite hosting many of the world’s largest AI companies.
Experts point to the U.S. market’s large size and heterogeneity as a major factor: in a vast and diverse labor market, new technologies tend to diffuse more slowly than in smaller, centrally digitalized countries.
Europe and the Visegrád region
Several European countries recorded high adoption rates: Norway, Ireland, France, Spain and the Netherlands each reported AI use above 40 percent. The continent’s strong performance is attributed to advanced digital infrastructure, high levels of corporate digitization and a skilled workforce; these factors allowed quick integration of AI into business processes, education and public services.
Hungary placed 19th in the survey covering 147 countries: 32.2 percent of the working-age population uses AI regularly. This positions Hungary ahead of countries such as Denmark, Germany and Taiwan, and makes it the top performer among the Visegrád Group. Poland registered 31 percent and the Czech Republic 30.1 percent.
Rapid growth in Asia
Asia is currently the fastest-growing region for AI adoption: ten of the world’s 15 fastest-growing AI markets are in Asia. Growth figures for the 2025–2026 period include:
- South Korea: 43.2 percent increase (global record)
- Thailand: 36.2 percent
- Japan: 34.1 percent
- Mongolia: 32.2 percent
For comparison, the United States recorded 19 percent growth over the same period. One reason for Asia’s rapid adoption is that AI systems have significantly improved at handling non-English languages in recent years, making them more usable across Asian markets.
Potential implications: a widening global AI gap
The report highlights a potential new economic divide: countries that rapidly integrate AI into everyday work could gain significant competitive advantages. The nations with the strongest AI usage share common features: advanced internet infrastructure, high digital literacy, service-oriented economies and substantial tech investment.
Conversely, many African and South Asian regions still face barriers—poor internet connectivity, high device costs and limited corporate digitization—that slow AI adoption. Experts say a central question of the coming decade will be which countries can most quickly embed AI into their economic operations, similar to how the spread of the internet previously reshaped global competition.
Sources
The analysis is based on Microsoft data compiled by Visual Capitalist; this article summarizes the coverage reported by Origo.
