The UAE recorded the fastest growth in AI talent concentration of any country in the world between 2019 and 2025, according to LinkedIn data published in the Stanford AI Index 2026, produced by the Stanford Institute for Artificial Intelligence.
AI talent concentration in the UAE rose 121% over the period, the highest rate globally. India came second at 120%, followed by Saudi Arabia at 113%. The index measures the change in the share of LinkedIn members in each geography who hold AI-related skills or roles.
Cyprus ranked fourth with growth of 112%, followed by Portugal at 111%, Indonesia at 108%, and Brazil at 107%. Iceland, Uruguay, and Denmark rounded out the top ten, at 93%, 90%, and 89% respectively.
The Stanford report attributes the UAE’s position to a combination of factors: accelerating AI skills adoption among the existing workforce, the country’s ability to attract technical talent from abroad, and a broader expansion of technology roles that is pushing professionals toward data, algorithms, and smart applications.
