
Microsoft AI Economic Research Institute released a report for the second quarter of 2026, showing that Taiwan’s AI penetration rate reached 33.8%, leading China
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Microsoft AI Economic Research Institute conducted an analysis of AI penetration rates in 147 economies around the world. The report points out that infrastructure, digital skills and language support are the keys to popularization.
The AI Economy Institute, a subsidiary of Microsoft, recently released the "Global AI Usage Report" for the second quarter of 2026, which analyzed the popularity of AI in 147 economies around the world. The results showed that Taiwan increased by 2 percentage points from the first quarter to 33%, ranking 19th in the world, far ahead of China, which ranked 67th.
The report pointed out that currently, the AI penetration rate in 31 economies has exceeded 30%, entering the highly penetrated "elite group". Among them, the United Arab Emirates ranks first in the world with a penetration rate of 73.3%, and is the only country to break the 70% threshold; Singapore ranks second with 64.3%. Ireland, France, and Norway have a small gap, ranking 3rd, 4th, and 5th with 49.9%, 49.6%, and 49.4% respectively.
Taiwan's generative AI penetration rate reached 31.8% in the first quarter of this year, ranking 20th globally, officially joining the highly penetrating market with an AI penetration rate of over 30%. In the second quarter, it grew to 33.8%, ahead of the United States' 33%, ranking 19th. China's GDP in the first quarter was 16.4%, and in the second quarter it increased by 1.1 percentage points to 17.5%, ranking 67th in the world.
The report said that the economy with the fastest growing penetration rate was South Korea, which increased by 3.5 percentage points in the second quarter compared with the first quarter. Its generative AI users increased from 37.1% in the first quarter to 40.6%, breaking the 40% threshold for the first time, and its ranking rose by 4 places to 12th in the world. In the past year, the proportion of South Korean AI users has increased by approximately 15 percentage points.
The global penetration rate of generative AI continues to expand, rising from 17.8% in the first quarter to 18.8% in the second quarter. The digital gap between the Global North and the Global South has also widened.
In the first quarter of this year, the penetration rate of generative AI in the Global North reached 27.5%, while that in the Global South was only 15.4%, with a gap of 12.1 percentage points. In the second quarter, the global North was 28.8% and the Global South was 16.2%, with a gap of 12.6 percentage points. Microsoft pointed out that infrastructure (electricity, network), digital skills and local language support are key factors affecting the popularity of AI.

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