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Readiness Index 2025 published by Oxford Insights. Compared with earlier editions, the
2025 report assesses government AI readiness through six pillars: Policy Capacity, AI
Infrastructure, Governance, Public Sector Adoption, Development and Diffusion, and
Resilience. Together, these dimensions capture key aspects of AI preparedness, including
policy capability, technological infrastructure, innovation ecosystems, and the practical
adoption of AI within government institutions.
According to the 2025 report, Vietnam ranks 45th globally, indicating a noticeable
improvement in the country’s AI readiness compared with previous years. However, a
closer examination of the index structure reveals considerable variation across its
components. Vietnam records its strongest performance in Governance (88.05) and
Public Sector Adoption (73.21), suggesting meaningful progress in the institutional
framework for AI governance as well as the adoption of digital technologies within
government agencies. These results imply that recent digital transformation initiatives
and national AI strategies have helped establish a relatively supportive institutional
foundation for the application of AI in the public sector.
Despite these positive developments, pillars associated with the technology
ecosystem and innovation capacity remain comparatively weaker. In particular,
Development and Diffusion scores 47.03, while Resilience reaches 43.28, reflecting
constraints in research and development capacity, innovation ecosystems, and the
broader diffusion of AI technologies across the economy. In addition, Vietnam’s Policy
Capacity score of 53.50 is considerably lower than that of several ASEAN peers, suggesting
that the design and implementation of AI-related policies remain uneven.
Table 4. Government AI Readiness Index 2025 – Comparison among selected ASEAN
countries
Public
Policy AI Sector Develop
Country Rank Governance ment & Resilience
Capacity Infrastructure Adoptio Diffusion
n
Singapore 7 85.00 74.46 78.30 92.50 64.15 76.42
Malaysia 38 80.50 60.52 78.48 64.78 55.36 38.33
Thailand 34 88.00 56.38 70.44 85.86 52.58 37.35
Indonesia 46 77.00 60.28 61.25 73.77 44.09 58.27
Vietnam 45 53.50 57.41 88.05 73.21 47.03 43.28
Philippines 43 84.50 49.50 83.34 69.17 43.96 58.17
Source: Oxford Insights, Government AI Readiness Index 2025.
When viewed in a regional context, Vietnam records a relatively strong score in
Governance, suggesting that a basic institutional framework for AI governance has
already been established. However, indicators related to the technology ecosystem and
innovation capacity remain lower than those of leading ASEAN countries. This pattern
indicates that Vietnam’s main challenge does not lie solely in digital infrastructure or
online public services, but also in its ability to develop a robust AI ecosystem and to
facilitate the broader diffusion of AI technologies across the economy.
These findings reinforce the central argument of the analytical framework: while e-
government development (EGDI) and GovTech capacity represent necessary foundations for
digital transformation, they are not sufficient to ensure the effective deployment of AI in the
public sector. The transition toward AI-enabled governance requires a broader set of
capabilities, including technological ecosystems, AI-related human capital, and innovation
capacity—factors that are directly captured by the pillars of the Government AI Readiness Index.

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