Dar es Salaam – Limited internet access, electricity and training could prevent many young Tanzanians from benefiting from artificial intelligence, according to a new study that places the country 25th among 56 Commonwealth members for youth AI readiness.
The Ayre Index, released on November 5, 2026, gives Tanzania 45.5 points out of 100, below its study-defined readiness benchmark of 53. Its findings contrast promising AI use among some university students with wider barriers to turning technology into better learning, employment and businesses.
Drawing on 1,128 sources, the Ayre Think Tank’s inaugural report examines conditions affecting people aged 15 to 29, including approximately 19.2 million in Tanzania. It measures the circumstances that could help young people benefit from AI, rather than directly testing their competence.
The Tanzania profile records internet use among just 32.3 per cent of young people and mobile-phone ownership among 58.4 per cent, while electricity reaches 52.4 per cent of the whole population. These figures come from evidence assembled for the index, whose sources span different years and age groups, rather than a new nationwide survey conducted in 2026.
Tanzania scores 2.3 out of 10 on the index’s selected education and training measures. The report also identifies widespread informal employment, temporary work and working poverty, meaning employment does not necessarily provide enough income to escape poverty, even where measured unemployment is relatively low.
“Technology can never automatically compensate for weak education systems or create decent jobs,” Prof C. Justin Robinson, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal of the University of the West Indies’ Five Islands Campus, writes in the report’s foreword.
Uneven engagement
Tanzania’s comparatively strong score of 8.3 out of 10 for purposeful AI use and creation requires caution. It rests on two indirect sources, not a representative survey of young Tanzanians.
One is a survey conducted between October 2024 and February 2025 of university students aged 18 to 29 who already used ChatGPT. Among 319 Tanzanian respondents, 67.1 per cent said they used it to support their studies at least sometimes.
The other source comprises conversation records involving users of all ages with one AI assistant. The report and its accompanying press release say these findings suggest engagement but do not establish how widely young people use AI or whether it improves their educational and employment prospects.
“Young people need to know when an AI system is useful and when it is wrong,” Robinson writes.
Comparable evidence was insufficient to score the index’s eighth intended pillar, critical judgement and human agency. The published rankings therefore draw on 102 indicators across seven pillars, with usable information, including permitted estimates, available for 63 indicators in Tanzania.
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The researchers illustrate AI’s potential economic scale with a moderate estimate of US$1.307 billion for Tanzania, ranging from US$631 million in the conservative scenario to US$1.983 billion in the optimistic case.
Those amounts describe a possible increase in the economy’s GDP level after ten years, not annual additions or gains accumulated over a decade. The report’s methodology applies International Monetary Fund scenarios for broad economic groups to World Bank national GDP figures, with the researchers calculating the moderate scenario as the midpoint.
The estimates are not Tanzania-specific forecasts, do not measure how much income young people would receive and do not calculate the gains that crossing the index’s benchmark would cause.
Only 15 Commonwealth countries reach that benchmark; it is a research comparison, not a guarantee of economic benefits.
Beyond connectivity
The report calls for affordable, reliable access alongside practical education and stronger routes from training into employment and enterprise. They also emphasise tools suited to local languages and needs, and safeguards allowing young people to question automated decisions.
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The findings arrive amid regional efforts to develop those foundations. In an October 31 announcement, the East African Community said ministers had adopted a regional AI strategy, approved a foundational university module and directed the development of AI certification benchmarks for Kiswahili.
For the index’s authors, the next research priority is to ask young people directly which barriers matter most. They recommend representative surveys reaching those who are offline, outside formal education or working informally, alongside those already using AI.
“Training has limited benefit where graduates cannot find work or build sustainable businesses,” the report concludes.
