World Bank report says AI could let developing countries condense 100 years of development into 10

The World Bank Group's World Development Report 2026, titled Decoding AI for Development and reported on Tuesday 4 August 2026, describes artificial intelligence as a historic opportunity for developing countries to accelerate their economic development. It is the institution's first comprehensive assessment of the technology's impact on developing economies.

The report says developing countries could condense 100 years of development into 10 years by rapidly addressing gaps in energy, internet connectivity, skills and institutional infrastructure. It also finds that jobs in high income countries face more than three times the automation risk from generative AI compared with those in low and middle income countries, while the technology's potential to meaningfully raise labour productivity is broadly similar in developed and developing economies.

Alongside the opportunities, the report carries warnings. Developing economies have recorded their weakest average growth performance in three decades, and many still show significant shortcomings in energy, internet access, data, skills and institutional infrastructure. If authorities fail to act, the report says, AI could widen the development gap between countries and increase domestic inequality, concentrate market power among specific actors and weaken trust in public institutions. Gaurav Nayyar, director of the report, told Anadolu that its central message is that developing countries should be optimistic about what AI can bring, but that this requires investing in the right foundations.