Kenya has officially taken the lead as the number one country in the world using ChatGPT, according to a new global report.
The latest findings from Datareportal show that Kenya outpaced major economies including the United States, the United Kingdom, and China when it comes to the adoption and usage of OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel closely follow Kenya, rounding out the top three.
According to the report, ChatGPT logged over 5 billion monthly visits across all platforms in Q2 2025. In May alone, the mobile app boasted about 486 million monthly active users.
Over 700 Million Active Monthly ChatGPT Users Globally
Datareportal’s analysis covered 54 of the world’s largest economies. It revealed that 22.3% of internet-connected adults used ChatGPT in the past month — translating to a global active user base exceeding 700 million people monthly.
But what really stands out is that over 4 in 10 adults in Kenya, the UAE, and Israel reported using ChatGPT regularly.
Kenya Ranked No. 1 Globally, Beating the US, UK, and China
Kenya topped the list with 42.1% of connected adults using ChatGPT — edging out UAE (42%) and Israel (41.4%).
Speaking to TUKO.co.ke, tech expert Moses Kemibaro broke down the key drivers of Kenya’s AI adoption.
“Kenya’s median age is around 20. Gen Z and millennials are driving adoption. Students use ChatGPT to simplify coursework, write essays, and prep for exams while professionals use it to write reports, clean up emails, code, and brainstorm ideas,” said Kemibaro.
He added that Kenya’s youthful, tech-savvy population is already immersed in the gig economy, and AI tools like ChatGPT are empowering freelancers and entrepreneurs to work smarter.
“ChatGPT's free usage plan and Kenya's innovation mindset” have also fueled growth, Kemibaro noted.
The Top 10 Countries Using ChatGPT in 2026
Here’s a snapshot of the countries where ChatGPT usage exceeded 30%:
|
Rank |
Country |
%
of Users |
|
1 |
Kenya |
42.1% |
|
2 |
United
Arab Emirates (UAE) |
42.0% |
|
3 |
Israel |
41.4% |
|
4 |
Malaysia |
39.8% |
|
5 |
Brazil |
39.7% |
|
6 |
India |
35.6% |
|
7 |
Portugal |
34.7% |
|
8 |
South
Africa |
34.3% |
|
9 |
Colombia |
32.7% |
|
10 |
Philippines |
32.4% |
While emerging markets dominated the top rankings, several major global economies lagged far behind. For instance, ChatGPT usage in the United States stood at just 19.1%, while the UK posted 17.9%, Germany came in at 21.2%, and Spain reached 25.7%.
At the very bottom were Ghana (12.6%), Russia (10.8%), China (7.3%), and Japan (5.8%).
In China’s case, some of the AI attention appears to be shifting toward Deepseek, an alternative AI platform that now boasts 75 million active users monthly.
