America and China Lag Far Behind, Israel Turns Out to Be the Number One Country

Amid the dominance of the United States and China in the AI technology race, Israel has emerged as the country with the highest concentration of AI talent in the world.

Based on LinkedIn’s 2024 report, Israel recorded a higher distribution of AI experts compared to other countries. This advantage was achieved despite its relatively small population compared to the US and China.

Demand for human resources with AI capabilities, or ‘AI talent’, continues to rise.

According to research, 66% of company leaders said they would not hire employees without AI skills. Meanwhile, 71% of them preferred to hire inexperienced individuals who master AI over experienced ones lacking such skills.

These findings were revealed in the 2024 Microsoft and LinkedIn report, conducted through a survey of 31,000 people in 31 countries.

To measure the spread of AI talent, LinkedIn released the ‘AI Talent Concentration’ metric, using data from user profiles. The assessment considered AI engineering skills such as machine learning and natural language processing, as well as AI literacy like the use of ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot.

Based on that data, Israel topped the list with an AI talent concentration of 1.98%, far above the global average. Meanwhile, countries like China and the United States did not make the ‘Top 10’ list despite their aggressive AI development.

However, it should be noted that China’s massive censorship of US-made platforms may be a reason why many Chinese talents do not have LinkedIn accounts, so their data could not be collected.

10 countries with the most AI experts

Here is the list of the 10 countries with the highest AI talent concentration according to LinkedIn:

Israel (1.98%)

Singapore (1.64%)

Luxembourg (1.44%)

Estonia (1.17%)

Switzerland (1.16%)

Finland (1.13%)

Ireland (1.11%)

Germany (1.09%)

Netherlands (1.07%)

South Korea (1.06%)

For the top six, there were no changes from the previous year. Meanwhile, Ireland rose four places to 7th position and South Korea dropped three places to 10th.

‘Many countries with the highest AI talent concentration, such as Israel, Singapore, Luxembourg, and Estonia, are small nations, yet they have been able to develop ecosystems that support rapid AI talent growth,’ said Chua Pei Ying, LinkedIn’s Chief Economist for the APAC region.

According to Chua, this is possible due to a combination of corporate investments in employee training and government policies that encourage lifelong learning.

Meanwhile, India, although not yet in the ‘Top 10’, showed a 252% increase in AI talent since 2016. In 2024 alone, India recorded a 33.4% annual increase in AI-related hiring.

For AI-related hiring growth in 2024, Singapore recorded a 25% increase and the United States 24.7%.

‘Singapore’s learning culture stands out, making this country competitive in the AI era,’ Chua added.

LinkedIn data also noted that workers in Singapore spend 40% more time learning AI skills compared to other countries in Southeast Asia.