Mapping and Comparing National Artificial Intelligence Strategies Across Africa: A Scoping Review

Background: Africa is experiencing a rapid proliferation of national artificial intelligence (AI) strategies. Between 2018 and March 2026, seventeen African countries have published or formally adopted dedicated national AI strategies or policies. Despite this momentum, no comprehensive comparative scoping review has systematically mapped the content, architecture, ethical commitments, governance models, implementation readiness, or regional distribution of these strategies. Such a review is essential to guide continental harmonisation efforts and identify enduring policy gaps.

 Objective: To map, describe, and thematically compare national AI strategies adopted across African countries; assess their content depth using a novel instrument, the National AI Strategy Policy Depth Index (NAISPDI); classify implementation readiness using a four-level maturity scale; and identify continental policy gaps and future research priorities.

Methods: This review followed the five-stage scoping review framework of Arksey and O'Malley (2005), refined by Levac, Colquhoun, and O'Brien (2010), and was reported in accordance with the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist (Tricco et al., 2018). Sources included government strategy documents, grey literature, multilateral organisation reports, peer-reviewed articles, and reputable policy databases published between January 2021 and March 2026.

Results: Seventeen countries were included: Algeria, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tunisia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Thematic analysis identified seven cross-cutting domains: governance models, strategic pillars, ethical frameworks, priority sectors, digital sovereignty, implementation readiness, and regional convergence and divergence. Application of the NAISPDI (scored 0-100) revealed wide variation in policy depth, ranging from 30 to 84. Only four countries (Egypt, Rwanda, Kenya, and Senegal) achieved high-maturity (Level 3-4) classification on the implementation readiness scale. North Africa demonstrates the most advanced governance architectures; East Africa shows greatest strategic ambition; West Africa the widest variation; and Southern Africa the strongest infrastructure base.

Conclusions: African AI strategies share a development-centric orientation and broadly converge around priority sectors of healthcare, agriculture, education, and public service delivery. However, significant gaps persist in binding ethical regulation, domestic financing, data governance, AI talent pipelines, and regional interoperability. The NAISPDI offers a replicable, continent-agnostic instrument for benchmarking and longitudinal policy monitoring.