Djibouti scores 0.93 out of 4 on the composite, in the Nascent tier, and ranks 35 of 54. The eight pillar scores are fellow-assigned values from the Regional Summary, and indicators are not scored. The strongest pillars are Strategy and Vision and Infrastructure and Data, both at 1.20. The weakest is Implementation and Impact at 0.10. The composite sits below the East Africa mean of 1.30 and the Africa mean of 1.33. Desk research in October 2026, which fellows have not verified and which did not inform the scores, found a first national AI strategy presented on 3 September 2026 without a formal adoption instrument, and no dedicated AI legislation.
P1Strategy & Vision1.20 / 4Emerging
Strategy and Vision scores 1.20, in the Emerging tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 found a draft national AI strategy: Djibouti presented the main orientations of its Strategie nationale d'IA 2026 to 2030 at a national AI forum on 3 September 2026, and no Council of Ministers adoption or decree was found (S1.1, S1.2). President Ismail Omar Guelleh opened the forum and called AI 'the most powerful accelerator' of Vision 2035 (S1.3). In January 2026 the Ministry of Digital Economy and Innovation ran a nationwide assessment and a multi-stakeholder workshop (S1.6). The strategy has six priorities, with no sector targets reported (S1.7). A budget, roadmap, monitoring framework and review mechanism are not determined (S1.4, S1.8, S1.9, S1.10).
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P2Governance & Regulation1.10 / 4Emerging
Governance and Regulation scores 1.10, in the Emerging tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 found that the National Assembly adopted Djibouti's first Digital Code on 30 June 2025, with a book on personal data protection (G2.2). A source dated 28 January 2026 says it is unclear that a data protection authority has been appointed (G2.3, G2.4). The African Union status list dated 2 February 2026 records signature of the Malabo Convention on 12 May 2023, with no ratification or deposit (G2.7). The research confirmed the absence of dedicated AI legislation (G2.1). An AI regulatory body, enforcement actions, extraterritorial provisions and an intellectual property review for AI are not determined (G2.5, G2.8, G2.9, G2.10).
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P3Infrastructure & Data1.20 / 4Emerging
Infrastructure and Data scores 1.20, in the Emerging tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 found 3 data centre facilities listed in Data Center Map's Africa directory (I3.1). TeleGeography data lists 2 landing points, Djibouti City and Haramous, carrying 8 distinct international cable systems in service (I3.3). PAIX Data Centres and the Djibouti Sovereign Fund announced on 15 May 2024 a carrier-neutral facility of up to 5 MW; no national total of live capacity was verified (I3.2, I3.10). The research confirmed that no hyperscaler cloud region or zone exists in Djibouti (I3.5). International bandwidth, GPU or HPC access, data localisation and cross-border data flow rules are not determined (I3.4, I3.6, I3.7, I3.8).
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P4Human Capital0.90 / 4Nascent
Human Capital scores 0.90, in the Nascent tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 found that the University of Djibouti opened a Master in 'Intelligence artificielle et modélisation des données' in September 2025, and an École 42 campus is announced for January 2027 (H4.3). On 12 October 2025 the Ministry of National Education launched an AI training programme for pedagogical inspectors (H4.7). One dataset counts 1 AI scholarly publication for 2024 and 2 for 2023 (H4.4). Somali and Afar are supported in the machine translation tools checked (H4.10). AI researchers per million, AI patents, school computer science education and labour transition policy are not determined (H4.1, H4.5, H4.6, H4.8).
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P5Innovation & Ecosystem0.70 / 4Nascent
Innovation and Ecosystem scores 0.70, in the Nascent tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 produced one firm finding, a confirmed absence: the national standards body ADN exists as an ISO correspondent member, but Djibouti is absent from the participating and observing member lists of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42, and no national AI committee was found (N5.8). Every other indicator is not determined. No AI company count was found (N5.1). Partech's 2025 report implies Djibouti received less than US$50M in tech equity in 2025, with no AI-specific figure (N5.2). No AI incubator count, regulatory sandbox, safety evaluation facility, ISO/IEC 42001 certification or AI risk assessment framework was identified in the sources opened (N5.3, N5.4, N5.6, N5.7, N5.9).
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P6Ethics & Inclusion1.00 / 4Emerging
Ethics and Inclusion scores 1.00, in the Emerging tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 found that Djibouti signed the Paris AI Action Summit Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable AI on 11 February 2025; it is not among the initial New Delhi Declaration endorsers and not on the GPAI member list (E6.7). Civil society and young innovators took part in the January 2026 multi-stakeholder workshop on the national AI strategy, and no standing civil society role or formal youth mechanism was found (E6.8, E6.10). Algorithmic impact assessment, bias audits, transparency obligations and citizen redress are not determined, and Djibouti is not covered by GIRAI 2026 (E6.1, E6.2, E6.3, E6.4). No national AI advisory body was located (E6.6).
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P7Regional Integration0.90 / 4Nascent
Regional Integration scores 0.90, in the Nascent tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 found Djibouti on the official signatory list of the Africa Declaration on Artificial Intelligence, done at Kigali on 4 April 2025; clause 3.6.1 commits signatories to support national frameworks aligned with the African Union Continental AI Strategy (R7.1, R7.2). Djibouti also signed the Paris AI Action Summit Statement on 11 February 2025 (R7.10). It is a member of IGAD, COMESA and CEN-SAD, and no AI coordination activity at that level was found (R7.3). Cross-border AI agreements, election provisions, a disinformation framework and participation in the Geneva Dialogue of 6 to 7 July 2026 are not determined (R7.4, R7.5, R7.6, R7.9).
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P8Implementation & Impact0.10 / 4Nascent
Implementation and Impact scores 0.10, in the Nascent tier, a fellow-assigned value. Desk research in October 2026 left all 10 indicators not determined. The national AI strategy for 2026 to 2030 was presented on 3 September 2026 with no budget disclosed, and the January 2026 consultations disclosed none (M8.1). Health and education are target sectors of the strategy, but no health AI rules and no education ministry AI guidance were found (M8.2, M8.8). Agriculture is not among the target sectors (M8.6). No government AI registry, central bank AI guidance or monitoring report was located (M8.4, M8.5, M8.7). A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization readiness assessment rated Djibouti 'emergent', a diagnostic and not a monitoring report (M8.5).
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