Nigeria has emerged as the country with the highest rate of weekly artificial intelligence usage globally, with 91 per cent of Nigerian citizens surveyed saying they use AI at least once a week, according to a new report by Boston Consulting Group.

The finding, contained in BCG’s latest Digital Government Citizen Survey titled “Citizens Are Open to Public AI Services: Governments Must Seize the Opportunity,” places Nigeria significantly ahead of the global average of 64 per cent. The report is BCG’s eight biennial study on citizens’ experiences and expectations of digital government services, covering respondents across dozens of countries worldwide.

The data confirms what anecdotal evidence has long suggested; that Nigerian consumers, particularly young urban professionals, have embraced AI tools including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Claude at a pace that outstrips most of the world. Furthermore, the BCG findings suggest that Nigerian citizens are not merely experimenting with AI but incorporating it as a consistent feature of their daily routines; using it for information gathering, productivity, content creation, and increasingly, interaction with public services.

The 91 per cent weekly usage figure is remarkable in context. Nigeria ranks above high-income, technology advanced markets including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan in AI adoption frequency, a reversal of the conventional expectation that wealthier, more digitally developed countries lead technology adoption curves.

Several factors explain Nigeria’s position at the top of the global AI usage rankings. Nigeria has one of the youngest populations in the world, with a median age of approximately 18 years; a demographic cohort that has grown up with smartphones and digital interfaces as default tools rather than acquired habits. Additionally, Nigeria’s large and growing creator economy, its active freelance professional community, and the widespread use of mobile internet as the primary means of digital access have all accelerated the adoption of AI tools that can be used directly from a smartphone.

Moreover, the BCG report signals an important policy opportunity. Citizens are open to public AI services, meaning governments that move quickly to deploy AI in service delivery, tax administration, healthcare access, and public information can meet a population already primed and willing to engage. Consequently, Nigeria’s AI adoption leadership is not merely a consumer technology story. It is an institutional readiness signal that government and the private sector should be taking seriously.

The BCG report’s broader argument is that governments globally must seize the moment while citizen openness to AI-powered public services remains high, before trust erodes through poor implementation or misuse.

Nigeria is already at the table. The question is what its institutions build next.

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