The skyline of illuminated high-rise buildings is seen along the Corniche Promenade in Doha on September 4, 2026. (Photo by Karim Jaafar / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: Qatar has ranked first among 39 jurisdictions assessed by the Compute Institute for their competitiveness in hosting large-scale artificial intelligence computing infrastructure, scoring 77.4 out of 100 in its latest Jurisdiction Competitiveness Index (JCI).
The assessment, dated September 7, 2026, places Qatar in Tier 1, classified as “Advantaged,” with a positive outlook.
Qatar received the highest score among the jurisdictions currently rated, ahead of the US states of Iowa, Indiana and Texas, as well as the UAE.
The index specifically measures how favourable a jurisdiction is for siting an AI compute campus with a capacity of at least 100 megawatts, rather than ranking countries by their overall AI capabilities or technological development. The Compute Institute describes itself as a ratings and research platform focused on the physical infrastructure behind the expansion of AI. Its work tracks factors affecting where large-scale AI infrastructure can be built and whether projects can be delivered as planned, with its methodology and underlying evidence made publicly available.
Under its methodology, the JCI assesses seven areas: power availability and deliverability, power cost, speed to build, regulatory and AI policy environment, fiscal conditions and incentives, capital and ecosystem depth, and stability and execution risk.
Qatar’s strongest-scoring dimension was stability and execution risk, at 8.5 out of 10. It also scored 8.4 for power cost and 8.4 for capital and ecosystem depth, while receiving 8.0 for fiscal conditions and incentives. The assessment cited Qatar’s relatively low industrial electricity costs, political and policy continuity, currency stability, investment incentives and access to sovereign and anchor capital among factors supporting its position. On capital and ecosystem depth, the index pointed to major investment commitments in AI and digital infrastructure.
It also highlighted Qatar’s developing cloud and data-centre ecosystem.
The assessment also identifies challenges. Qatar received a “B” data-confidence grade, with 16 of 22 assessed sub-factors supported by the institute’s two higher evidence categories.
The Compute Institute says its methodology distinguishes between measures already in force and forward-looking announcements.
Stronger evidence, including enacted measures and executed contracts, can influence the base score, while announcements and other weaker evidence are used in determining the outlook.
The institute also notes that its current methodology, designated v0, produces expert-system rubric scores rather than statistical predictions. It says the methodology will be calibrated further as more data becomes available on the actual delivery of AI infrastructure projects.
