🇨🇦 Canada: As of 2025, Canada remains heavily reliant on foreign providers for its digital infrastructure, with about 60% of the cloud computing market and 93% of office software supplied by foreign vendors-12. This dependency has prompted the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) to urge the government to embrace open-source software to reduce reliance on proprietary technology and bolster national digital sovereignty-48-50. Building on this, experts are now calling for the development of a dedicated "GC-OS"—a Government of Canada Linux distribution—to serve as a standalone operating system for the public service, drawing on the successes of allied nations that have already made the switch-22.

🇲🇽 Mexico: Mexico launched its National Public Technology Repository in December 2025, a platform centralizing open-source solutions developed with public funds that can be reused by state and municipal governments. The repository includes tools like LlaveMX (digital identity), Denuncia Digital (digital complaints), and open data platforms. The initiative aims to reduce development costs, avoid duplication, promote technological sovereignty, and decrease dependence on private companies for essential services -6.

MENA Region Open-Source

In MENA region, the movement to adopt open-source software like Linux is also gaining significant momentum across several Middle Eastern countries. For many, it's a strategic move to strengthen digital sovereignty, enhance security, and drive economic diversification.

Here are some notable examples from the region:

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: With an ICT market valued at over $50 billion in 2024-3, the government is proactively driving open-source adoption through its Digital Government Authority (DGA) to reduce foreign dependency and support Vision 2030(source). Key moves include adopting formal guidelines for FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software)-9, and major open-source vendors like SUSE and Red Hat are establishing a local presence to support this digital agenda-(source).

🇯🇴 Jordan: The country has actively promoted the use of open-source software (OSS) within its government, business, and academic sectors through initiatives like the "INT@J" workshop

🇸🇾 Syria: Following the lifting of sanctions, access to open-source platforms like Fedora has been restored, opening new opportunities for adoption in the public sector and education-(source).

🇹🇷 Turkey: The government has developed its own Linux distribution, Pardus, specifically for use across the public sector to bolster national security and reduce reliance on foreign software--28. This has led to widespread adoption, including a notable migration by the Eyüpsultan Municipality in Istanbul, which transitioned its entire workforce to Linux and other open-source solutions-(source)-.

🇴🇲 Oman: The Ministry of Transport, Communications and IT has published a practical guide for government entities on adopting Free and Open-Source Software-62-. In a concrete step, the government has invited local firms to develop open-source office software, aiming to deploy it across government institutions to reduce reliance on foreign systems-(source).

🇧🇭 Bahrain: The nation has taken a foundational step by using Linux as the "engine" for its entire e-government infrastructure, with support from IBM and Gulf Business Machines-1-. The country has also hosted conferences to demonstrate this successful Linux implementation to other GCC decision-makers-(source).

🇶🇦 Qatar: The government is actively encouraging the adoption of open-source solutions through major vendors like Red Hat across various public sector ministries, as part of its Digital Government strategy and Qatar Vision 2030-(source).

🇦🇪 UAE: Both Abu Dhabi and Dubai have embraced open-source technologies. Abu Dhabi has published an Open Source Software Adoption Guide-, and Dubai is leveraging major open-source vendors like Red Hat and SUSE in its cloud and AI strategies, aligning with a wider push for "digital sovereignty"-(source).

South America Region

🇧🇷 Brazil: The Brazilian government has been a pioneer in open-source adoption in Latin America. Under President Lula da Silva, federal agencies are launching multiple initiatives with IBM to promote Linux use across public administration, including training programs for government employees. The government aims to transition over 400,000 electronic voting machines to open source, and officials have stated they want to move from "open-source islands" to an entire "continent" of Linux adoption -2-7.

🇻🇪 Venezuela: Venezuela has one of the most established government-led Linux programs in the region. The Canaima GNU/Linux project, now in its 18th year, released version 8.3 "Kavanayén" in December 2025, focused on accessibility for users migrating from proprietary systems. The distribution includes a custom Software Center developed by Venezuelan talent and OnlyOffice for compatibility with proprietary formats. The initiative originated from Decree 3390 under President Hugo Chávez and was later consolidated by the Infogobierno Law to achieve technological sovereignty -1.

🇨🇴 Colombia: Colombia is actively pursuing legislative action for open-source migration. In December 2025, the Senate's Sixth Commission held a public hearing on Bill 220 of 2025, which seeks to mandate that public entities progressively migrate to free and open-source software to strengthen technological sovereignty, reduce costs, and guarantee transparency in public information management. Senator Sandra Ramírez, leading the initiative, emphasized that this is "a debate about freedom, sovereignty, knowledge, and the future of our country" -9.

🇺🇾 Uruguay: Uruguay has been a regional leader in open-source adoption through its Plan Ceibal program, launched in 2007. The initiative provides all public primary and secondary school students and teachers with free laptops running Linux-based systems, along with Internet connectivity. To date, the government has distributed over 1.68 million devices and provides a full learning management system, open educational resources, and teacher training. The program has achieved 100% Wi-Fi connectivity in public schools, with 93% of urban schools having fiber optic connections -5.

This shows a clear global and regional trend where governments are not just considering but actively implementing open-source strategies as a core part of their national digital future.