Belarus ranks among top countries in DeepSeek adoption rates
In 2025, the use of generative AI continued to grow globally: in the second half of the year, the share of users increased by 1.2 percentage points, reaching 16.3% of the planet's population. This means that approximately one in six people worldwide already uses AI for studying, working, or problem-solving. But despite the overall growth, data shows an almost twofold — and strengthening — digital divide between countries of the Global North and Global South. This is stated in a fresh report by Microsoft, writes Devby.io.
In countries of the Global North, 24.7% of the working-age population uses AI, whereas in countries of the Global South, it is only 14.1%. The UAE leads with an indicator of 64%. The top 5 also include Singapore, Norway, Ireland, and France.
Belarus is in the bottom quarter of the list of approximately 150 countries with a result of 8.4% — an increase of +0.8 percentage points in the second quarter compared to the first.
Alongside this, 2025 saw another significant shift — the rapid growth of the Chinese neural network DeepSeek, which gained a noticeable advantage in countries where access to Western AI services is restricted or complicated. The startup offered a completely free chatbot without subscription or paid features, thereby eliminating both financial and technical barriers to access.
The highest popularity of DeepSeek is recorded in China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, and Belarus. In China, DeepSeek's adoption rate is 89%, and in Belarus, it is 56%. This is even more than in Russia — 43%. The platform is also growing rapidly in African countries. For comparison, in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Mongolia, DeepSeek's adoption rate is below 5% — in the same range as in the USA and most European countries.
DeepSeek's success reflects a broader trend, as noted by Microsoft: the global spread of AI is determined not only by the quality of the models but also by accessibility, economic context, and political conditions. Open AI models can quickly scale in regions that were excluded from the first wave of AI adoption and are becoming a tool of technological and geopolitical influence.
Overall, Microsoft's data indicates that the world is rapidly adopting AI, but this is happening very unevenly. Countries that invested early in digital infrastructure, skills, and government AI initiatives continue to lead. Also, the growth of platforms like DeepSeek suggests that the next wave of AI users may come not from traditional technological centers but from countries of the Global South and states with limited access to Western technologies.
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