Global Skills Report 2026

Build the AI–human skills advantage

Q: What is the Global Skills Report 2026?

The Global Skills Report 2026 analyzes learning behavior drawn from more than 300 million Coursera and Udemy learners worldwide to reveal how people are developing the AI and human skills needed for AI-workforce readiness.

Q: Who is the Global Skills Report 2026 for?

The Global Skills Report 2026 is designed for business, higher education, and government leaders shaping workforce, talent, curriculum, and economic-development strategies for the AI era.

Q: What insights are included inside the Global Skills Report 2026?

The Global Skills Report 2026 highlights the top AI and human skills, the fastest-growing AI and human skills, the countries and regions where learner demand is intensifying, and the AI and human skill combinations learners most frequently build together.

For the first time, the Global Skills Report 2026 combines Coursera and Udemy data, drawing on insights from 300M+ learners across 98 countries, to show where AI and human skills gaps exist today and how organizations can close them.

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Global AI and human skills insights

25/31

European countries in the top half of the AI-Human Skills Synergy Index

107%

critical thinking enrollment growth year over year

45+

GenAI enrollments per minute, ↑ 25 per minute in 2025

Report at a glance

The Global Skills Report 2026 identifies the top AI and human capabilities by analyzing data drawn from more than 300 million Coursera and Udemy learners across 98 countries in six regions. This joint analysis provides businesses, higher education institutions, and governments with actionable insights to shape their learning and workforce strategies.

Use this report to:

See which countries are leading in skill-building and national AI readiness alignment.
Discover the fastest-growing AI skills (like agentic AI) and human skills (like judgment and complex problem-solving) to see where learner demand is intensifying.
Explore the AI and human skills combinations learners most frequently build together.
Track how learners are building in-demand skills with industry-aligned micro-credentials to accelerate workforce readiness.

Get the report

New this year: AI-Human Skills Synergy Index

The 2026 report introduces the AI-Human Skills Synergy Index, combining Coursera learning signals with national AI-readiness data.

Check out the Index to:

Explore where learners are building AI skills alongside the human skills needed to apply them.
See which countries provide supportive conditions for this growth.
Learn how regional approaches to AI readiness differ.

Access the index

GSR 2026 Human-AI Skill Synergy Index 520x435

Leaders now expect every hire to understand how generative AI applies to their work, regardless of the role. That means knowing what the technology capabilities are and recognizing where it fits in your own domain, whether you are a nurse, working in a factory, or managing risk in financial services. Knowing when to use it and not to, is both a durable skill and the basis of responsible use.

Valerie Singer

General Manager of AWS Global Education

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

At Bausch + Lomb, foundational AI courses are mandatory across the enterprise, with course completion embedded in performance management. This requirement established AI literacy as a core expectation for every colleague and has unlocked new sources of value across our workforce. Colleagues are more confident experimenting with new tools and approaches, and innovation now comes from both technical and non-technical functions.

Devang Modi

Chief AI Officer

Bausch & Lomb

As AI takes on more of the routine, easily verifiable parts of our work, more people can play broader roles that once required a whole team. A marketing coordinator might now grow to running entire campaigns end to end, from conception through planning, execution, to analyzing what worked. A web frontend developer might now become a full-stack developer involved more broadly in building entire pieces of software. Succeeding in these expanded roles will require a combination of AI skills plus broad and deep skills in their specific discipline.

Andrew Ng

Founder, DeepLearning.AI, and Co-Founder and Chairman, Coursera

At FPT Software, we have embedded continuous learning into career progression to build AI and digital capabilities at scale. By aligning learning with both business priorities and employee growth, we have fostered a strong learning culture that has generated over 108,000 learning hours and 22,500 course completions, helping our workforce stay future-ready in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.

Prajith Nair

Senior Vice President, Head of Learning & Innovation

FPT Software

Valerie Singer

General Manager of AWS Global Education

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Devang Modi

Chief AI Officer

Bausch & Lomb

Andrew Ng

Founder, DeepLearning.AI, and Co-Founder and Chairman, Coursera

Prajith Nair

Senior Vice President, Head of Learning & Innovation

FPT Software

Download the Global Skills Report 2026

Access trusted insights on:

98 country rankings from the AI-Human Skills Synergy Index
The fastest-growing AI and human skills drawn from 300M+ learners
Top skill combinations that drive AI-human synergy
Enrollment trends for industry-aligned micro-credentials

The Global Skills Report 2026 analyzes learning behavior drawn from more than 300 million Coursera and Udemy learners worldwide to reveal how people are developing the AI and human skills needed for AI-workforce readiness.

Coursera’s new AI-Human Skills Synergy Index ranks 98 countries based on the extent to which learners are observed developing AI capabilities alongside the human competencies needed to apply them effectively.

The Global Skills Report 2026 is designed for business, higher education, and government leaders shaping workforce, talent, curriculum, and economic-development strategies for the AI era.

The Global Skills Report 2026 highlights the top AI and human skills, the fastest-growing AI and human skills, the countries and regions where learner demand is intensifying, and the AI and human skill combinations learners most frequently build together.

The Index combines Coursera learning signals—including proficiency, skill breadth, and AI–human skill overlap—with the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index to assess both capability development and the conditions for applying those skills at scale.

The AI-Human Skills Synergy Index rewards countries where learners demonstrate AI and human skills proficiency, where the same learner population is developing both skill types, where that activity spans a broad taxonomy, and where the surrounding national environment can support application of those skills.

The AI Maturity Index defines how prepared countries are to drive growth with AI. It gives leaders the data to track GenAI skill development to see where learning, innovation, and research are thriving. The AI-Human Skills Synergy Index goes beyond AI maturity alone, and ranks countries by their ability to build and demonstrate both AI and human skills proficiencies.