New research from Comparitech comparing 178 countries finds that only 33 currently have comprehensive Artificial Intelligence legislation in place, with Europe emerging as the clear leader. Most of those nations, 27 in total, are in the European Union, where the landmark Artificial Intelligence Act has set a high regulatory benchmark and driven robust national rules. Denmark, France and Greece top the rankings, each scoring 13 out of 14, reflecting the combined strength of the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act and additional domestic measures, while most other European Union member states scored 12 out of 14 and collectively cement the region’s lead in global Artificial Intelligence governance.
The study evaluated each country using 11 measures, including whether Artificial Intelligence-specific laws exist or are proposed, the presence of a regulatory body, protections against bias, requirements to disclose copyrighted training data and penalties for non-compliance. Countries were also judged on whether their laws address deepfakes, worker protections, environmental impact and safeguards for children, with each nation given a score out of 14. The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act aims to ensure systems operate safely and transparently, uphold fundamental rights and maintain innovation, requiring regulators to be established, mandating disclosure of copyrighted training data and introducing a risk-based framework with penalties for companies that fail to comply.
Outside Europe, the highest-ranking country is Kazakhstan, which scored 11 out of 14 after introducing its own Artificial Intelligence law in January 2026 that broadly mirrors European Union principles but is less detailed. Vietnam and South Korea followed with scores of 10, while the United States scored just 4 out of 14, reflecting a fragmented, largely state-level approach focused on specific issues such as sexual imagery online, Artificial Intelligence-generated material and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. In 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in AI,” which rolled back several regulatory safeguards introduced during the previous administration. The United Kingdom performed only slightly better than the United States, scoring 5 out of 14, suggesting its flexible, innovation-focused strategy has not yet produced detailed protections. Researchers describe a patchy global landscape with significant gaps, notably that no country was found to have fully addressed environmental impact, and among the 33 countries with national Artificial Intelligence legislation, 29 allow exceptions for military use and 29 include carve-outs for policing, enabling restricted systems for civilian use to remain available to governments and security agencies.
