Despite the accelerating deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in public administration, a limited number of countries have ensured its safe and reliable implementation through the adoption of ethical guidelines for governmental AI. In spite of the proliferation of AI ethics studies from a variety of approaches, most remain limited in scope while large-scale empirical analyses scarce in this field, making it difficult to draw generalizable conclusions regarding factors influencing AI ethics adoption. Disputing the assumption of that AI ethics governance is primarily a function of economic development, the objective of this study is to analyse which institutional and regulatory factors influence the adoption of AI ethics frameworks in the public sector. Using cross-sectional data from the 2025 GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI), descriptive statistics and cluster analysis are conducted.The findings are expected to demonstrate the critical role of institutional and regulatory frameworks in mitigating the risks and adverse effects associated with unregulated AI implementation. Furthermore, the results will highlight the importance of economic conditions and regional development patterns, thereby contributing to more generalizable explanations of the adoption of AI ethics frameworks.