Microsoft released its latest "Global AI Adoption Report" on Tuesday. Data shows that by the second quarter of this year, 18.8% of the global working-age population had adopted artificial intelligence, an increase of about 1 percentage point from the previous quarter, and adoption rates are rising in almost every economy.

UAE and Singapore Lead, Japan and South Korea Catch Up Fastest

Looking at the regional level, the countries most willing to use AI are the UAE (70.1%) and Singapore (64.3%), while Ireland, France, and Norway are also approaching half. In terms of growth rate, South Korea was the fastest, jumping from 37.1% to 40.6%; Saudi Arabia rose the most in ranking, moving from 30th to 25th; and Japan saw the largest relative increase, rising from 22.5% to 24.7%, an increase of about 10%.

However, the report also highlights a glaring gap: the average AI adoption rate among working-age populations in the Global North is 28.8%, while it is only 16.2% in the Global South, further widening the north-south divide globally. As a comparison, the U.S. has a ratio of 33.0%, ranking 21st. In other words, AI penetration is still accelerating, but the benefits are far from evenly distributed.