Microsoft Publishes Global AI Data Showing a Wider North-South Gap

Microsoft’s latest Global AI Diffusion Report puts generative-AI use at 18.8% of the world’s working-age population in June. That is about one percentage point higher than in the first quarter, but the report also finds the gap between the Global North and South has widened.

What Microsoft’s measure counts

The index measures diffusion: the share of people ages 15 to 64 who used a generative-AI product during the reporting period. Microsoft calculates the figure from aggregated, anonymized telemetry, adjusted for operating-system and device-market share, internet penetration and population.

Microsoft calls it the strongest cross-country measure available today, while acknowledging that no single metric is perfect. The company says it is continuing to refine how it measures country-level adoption and outcomes.

18.8%Global AI use

Microsoft estimates that 18.8% of people ages 15 to 64 worldwide used a generative-AI product in June, about one percentage point above the first quarter.

28.8%Global North

Generative-AI usage reached 28.8% in the Global North.

16.2%Global South

The Global South figure was 16.2%, and Microsoft characterizes the regional gap as widening.

Growth reached beyond the leaders

Usage increased in almost every economy in the second quarter. The United Arab Emirates led the reported rankings at 73.3%, followed by Singapore at 64.3%; South Korea posted the largest absolute increase, gaining 3.5 percentage points. Japan added 2.2 points, roughly a 10% rise from its first-quarter level of 22.5%.

Saudi Arabia made the largest move in the rankings, rising five places from 30th to 25th. The country results show growth is not confined to the markets already at the top.

Different patterns of use, and a possible lower-cost route

Microsoft’s analysis of consumer Copilot activity found a higher share of education and learning use in the Global South. The finding concerns Copilot use, not all generative-AI products, but it suggests that adoption rates can conceal differences in how tools are used.

The report identifies open-weight models as one possible route to broader access. Microsoft says they are taking a growing share of API token volume and could lower costs while supporting adaptation to local languages and needs. Infrastructure, connectivity and skills remain barriers.

The next reading will use a broader measure

Microsoft plans to expand its next diffusion measure to include newer AI tools and models. It expects the revision to raise measured user shares in nearly every economy, with larger projected increases in China. The next report will therefore capture a broader set of tools than this one.