---
title: AI Puts Three Times as Many Jobs at Risk in Rich Countries as in Poor Ones
description: The World Development Report 2026 puts 4.5% of jobs in low- and middle-income countries at risk of AI automation, against 14.2% in high-income countries.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-08-05T19:25:23.720Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/world-bank-ai-jobs-risk-developing-economies
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/world-bank-ai-developing-economies-106889.webp
categories: Economy
content_type: News
region: Global
publication: Sovereign Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

Workers in low- and middle-income countries are far less exposed to automation by generative AI than workers in wealthy ones. The [World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence](https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/08/04/ai-offers-lifeline-to-developing-economies-in-an-era-of-weak-growth), published on 4 August in Washington, puts 4.5% of existing jobs in low- and middle-income countries at risk of automation by the technology, against 14.2% in high-income countries.

The picture on productivity is closer. The World Bank expects 16.2% of jobs in developing economies to see productivity meaningfully boosted by AI, near the 18.7% expected in high-income countries, and puts the biggest gains in amplifying what workers already do.

## Developing Economies Are Posting Their Weakest Growth in Thirty Years

Developing economies are in the middle of their weakest average growth performance in three decades, and the report finds AI could lift that performance before the end of the 2020s. It attaches a condition: AI could let these countries do in a decade what might otherwise take a century, but only if governments move quickly to close gaps in power, connectivity, skills and institutional quality.

“AI has thrown developing economies a lifeline, and they should seize it,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group's senior vice president and chief economist. Gill said the technology is spreading faster and is more context-specific than earlier general-purpose technologies such as electricity and the internet, and that developing countries need to hurry.

“They do not need large models or big data centers to reap its benefits,” Gill said. “By adapting small, low-cost AI tools to local conditions, they can bring better medical care, education, judicial services and agricultural extension within reach of millions.”

## A Third of Rural Schools in Sub-Saharan Africa Still Lack Reliable Power

In Sub-Saharan Africa nearly one-third of rural schools still lack reliable electricity and more than two-thirds lack dependable internet access. The World Bank Group is working with partners through Mission 300 to bring energy access to 300 million people across the region by 2030.

The report also sets out where the technology is being made: the most advanced systems come from a small number of countries and companies, while many developing economies lack the power, internet access, data, skills and institutions to use AI effectively. Expanding access to computing power and to local data, including in local languages, is part of what it says those countries need in order to tailor tools to their own populations and economies.

## The Bank's Advice Is to Adopt First and Build Frontier AI Last

The report sets out three steps in order: adopt available tools, adapt them to local conditions, and over time advance toward frontier AI development. The sequence is meant to stop countries spending on advanced systems before the foundations are in place.

Many AI pilots are already running in developing economies, the report says, and the harder question is which of them deliver results. It calls for better evidence, stronger skills, clearer procurement and evaluation frameworks, and government action to make it easier for new firms to attract investment, test ideas and scale what works.

“The window to get this right is narrow,” said Gaurav Nayyar, director of the World Development Report 2026. Nayyar said countries that put power, connectivity, skills and institutions in place now will be positioned to adopt and adapt AI for their people.

## Voluntary Standards Come Before New Laws

On oversight, the report says governments should start by drawing on voluntary industry standards to encourage responsible use, anchored in international cooperation to prevent regulatory fragmentation, and should apply existing laws directly when voluntary measures fall short. It warns that public trust will suffer if AI embeds bias in government decisions or erodes data privacy.

## FAQ

**Q: What is the World Development Report 2026?**
It is the World Bank Group's World Development Report for 2026, subtitled The Promise of Artificial Intelligence and published on 4 August 2026. The Bank describes it as the first comprehensive assessment of what AI means for developing countries.

**Q: Which jobs are most exposed to generative AI?**
The report measures exposure by country income rather than by occupation. It puts 14.2% of existing jobs in high-income countries at risk of automation by generative AI, against 4.5% in low- and middle-income countries.

**Q: What does a country need before AI tools are useful there?**
The report points to power, connectivity, skills and institutional quality, including procurement and evaluation capacity. Nearly a third of rural schools in Sub-Saharan Africa still lack reliable electricity and more than two-thirds lack dependable internet access.