Five countries in the region—Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania—made it into the top quarter of the global ranking of AI-ready destinations, with Eastern Europe leading the way in preparing the next generation of professionals to work with AI.
These are the findings of the 2026 Global Outsourcing AI Readiness Index, compiled by Ataraxis. The index evaluates the 25 largest global outsourcing destinations based on four criteria: the prevalence of AI among the population, the AI literacy of the workforce, the adoption of AI in companies, and its integration into the education sector.
Hungary Tops Eastern Europe
Hungary achieved the best result among Central and Eastern European countries—69.1 points—and ranked fourth in the overall global ranking. Only India, Brazil, and Malaysia ranked higher.
The Czech Republic scored 66.9 points and ranked seventh, Bulgaria scored 62.8 points and ranked ninth, Poland scored 61.2 points and ranked 11th, and Romania scored 59.4 points and ranked 13th. Thus, all five countries in the region ranked in the top half of the 25-country ranking.
Unfortunately, the Republic of Moldova does not appear in the index.
The average score for the five Central and Eastern European countries is 63.88 points. The gap between the region’s best and worst results is less than 10 points, indicating a relatively uniform level of readiness among these countries for the new outsourcing model.
By comparison, India ranks first in the overall ranking with 84.55 points, Brazil is second with 76.1, and Malaysia is third with 75.65.
Education is emerging as the key advantage
The most interesting finding for Eastern Europe relates not to the current use of AI, but to the training of future specialists.
The region’s average score for the AI Education Pipeline reaches 70.4 points. This is significantly higher than the average score across all 25 regions, which stands at 54.12 points.
The Czech Republic scored 81 points on this metric—the third-highest result among all countries in the ranking. Poland ranked fifth with 74 points. Hungary scored 69 points, Bulgaria 66, and Romania 62.
Ataraxis views the integration of AI into the educational process as the most long-term indicator of competitiveness: it reflects the education system’s ability to produce a new generation of workers prepared to work in an environment where AI is widespread.
In the index methodology, this indicator accounts for 15% of the total score, while the prevalence of AI among the population and the AI literacy of the workforce each account for 30%, and the adoption of AI in companies accounts for 25%.
It is precisely this combination of existing digital skills and future workforce potential that can become a competitive advantage for the region in the global services market.
The general public is adopting AI faster than businesses
At the same time, the index data reveal a significant gap between the general public’s use of AI and its adoption by companies in several countries in the region.
In Hungary, the score for AI adoption among the general public is 86 points, compared to 67 points for AI adoption in businesses. In Bulgaria, the gap is even wider: 82 points versus 46 points.
In Romania, the figures are 69 and 42 points, respectively, and in Poland, 57 and 48 points.
The Czech Republic is an exception: here, AI adoption in companies is rated at 75 points, while the index for AI use by the general public is 61 points. This is also the highest score for corporate AI adoption among the five Eastern European countries.
This picture may be significant for the outsourcing market. The presence of AI users and specialists familiar with the technology does not necessarily mean that companies are capable of translating these skills into production processes. It is precisely the transition from experimenting with AI to using it in real business processes that is becoming one of the key factors in competitiveness.
Eastern Europe is competing with traditional outsourcing hubs
The index shows that the traditional geography of outsourcing is gradually becoming more complex. India retains the top spot, while Brazil and Malaysia also rank among the top three. However, Hungary now holds the fourth position, ahead of the Philippines, Chile, and the Czech Republic.
At the same time, Ataraxis emphasizes that the ranking does not attempt to predict which countries will become global leaders in AI in the long term. It shows their current readiness to compete for work that will be performed using AI. Nor does the index assess the likelihood that specific professions will disappear due to automation.
For Central and Eastern Europe, this signals a potential shift in the competitive landscape: the region’s advantage may no longer be determined solely by labor costs, geographical proximity to Western Europe, or the availability of IT specialists, but also by its ability to continuously train personnel skilled in working with AI.
The study also notes that five Eastern European regions are benefiting from the EU’s digital infrastructure. This provides them with an institutional and technological foundation that some competing regions outside the European Union lack.
