Boston Consulting Group (BCG) released its “The AI Maturity Matrix 2026” report analysing AI maturity across more than 75 economies worldwide and said on Monday that South Korea has entered the top “AI Pioneers” group alongside the United States, China, Britain, Singapore and Canada.

The report said South Korea and Japan were the only two economies newly added to the AI Pioneers group since the first survey in 2024.

BCG assessed that South Korea has stood out in developing its own AI models and has also pursued large-scale public investment to build computing infrastructure and an AI ecosystem. It stressed that South Korea ranked in the world’s top five in the development of Notable AI Models in Stanford University’s Human-Centered AI Institute (Stanford HAI) “2026 AI Index.”

The report said the findings showed that almost all economies made progress in at least one area that makes up AI readiness, and that eight economies, including South Korea and Japan, moved up to a higher tier in the AI readiness assessment compared with 2024.

BCG stressed that as AI strategy-setting has become widespread across most economies, the speed of execution that links strategy to practical AI capabilities and change across the broader economy has now emerged as a key factor that distinguishes national AI competitiveness.

Joerg Hildebrandt (외르크 힐데브란트), BCG’s global public sector leader and a co-author of the report, said: “The economies that improved their AI readiness this year show that the government’s ability to execute is a key element in turning AI strategy into tangible capabilities.” He added: “Going forward, the economies that secure competitiveness will be those that accelerate AI transformation in core industries, and to do so, securing advanced AI talent and expanding private investment must happen together.”