Unemployment rate (modelled ILO estimate)

181 countries, 2025. Unit: % of labour force.

First in the ranking
0.1 %
Qatar
Median country
5.1 %
half above, half below
World
4.8 %
World Bank aggregate
Range
0.1 to 34.2
Qatar - Eswatini

How to read it

Across 181 countries worldwide, the highest value is in Eswatini (34.2 %) and the lowest in Qatar (0.1 %).

The median country is at 5.1 %: half are above, half below.

For the world as a whole, the value fell from 6.0 % in 1996 to 4.8 % in 2025.

Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

Compare selected countries · on the world map

Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external… · via World Bank WDI (SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS) · licence

Unemployment over time

%

Add to chart:

Ranking of countries

2025
In chart Continent Share of the highest value
1Qatar0.1Asia
2Cambodia0.3Asia
3Niger0.4Africa
4Thailand0.8Asia
5Burundi0.9Africa
6Chad1.1Africa
7Bahrain1.1Asia
8Laos1.2Asia
9Solomon Islands1.4Oceania
10Moldova1.5Europe
11Vietnam1.5Asia
12Tanzania1.6Africa
13Benin1.6Africa
14Timor-Leste1.6Asia
15Cuba1.7North America
16Togo2.0Africa
17Tonga2.0Oceania
18Russia2.1Europe
19United Arab Emirates2.2Asia
20Kuwait2.2Asia
21Philippines2.2Asia
22Côte d'Ivoire2.3Africa
23Macao2.3Asia
24Japan2.5Asia
25Papua New Guinea2.6Oceania
26Guatemala2.6North America
27Guinea-Bissau2.7Africa
28Mexico2.7North America
29South Korea2.7Asia
30Senegal2.7Africa
31Uganda2.7Africa
32Hong Kong2.8Asia
33Singapore2.8Asia
34Czechia2.8Europe
35Mali2.8Africa
36Liberia2.9Africa
37Malta2.9Europe
38Bolivia3.0South America
39Poland3.0Europe
40Ghana3.0Africa
41Saudi Arabia3.0Asia
42Madagascar3.0Africa
43Myanmar3.0Asia
44Nigeria3.1Africa
45Sierra Leone3.2Africa
46Slovenia3.2Europe
47Bhutan3.2Asia
48Indonesia3.2Asia
49Oman3.3Asia
50Jamaica3.3North America
51El Salvador3.3North America
52Ecuador3.3South America
53Ethiopia3.3Africa
54Trinidad and Tobago3.3North America
55Belarus3.4Europe
56Burkina Faso3.5Africa
57Israel3.5Asia
58Kyrgyzstan3.5Asia
59Bulgaria3.5Europe
60North Korea3.5Asia
61Cameroon3.6Africa
62Iceland3.6Europe
63Germany3.7Europe
64Malaysia3.8Asia
65Bangladesh3.8Asia
66Comoros3.8Africa
67Netherlands3.9Europe
68Sri Lanka4.0Asia
69Australia4.1Oceania
70United States4.2North America
71India4.2Asia
72Turkmenistan4.3Asia
73Democratic Republic of the Congo4.4Africa
74Maldives4.5Asia
75Hungary4.5Europe
76China4.6Asia
77Uzbekistan4.6Asia
78Ireland4.6Europe
79Norway4.6Europe
80United Kingdom4.7Europe
81Kazakhstan4.8Asia
82Paraguay4.8South America
83Switzerland4.9Europe
84Honduras4.9North America
85Cyprus4.9Asia
86Samoa5.0Oceania
87Croatia5.0Europe
88Nicaragua5.0North America
89Malawi5.1Africa
90Vanuatu5.1Oceania
91New Zealand5.1Oceania
92Dominican Republic5.1North America
93Peru5.1South America
94Guinea5.2Africa
95Mongolia5.2Asia
96Brunei5.3Asia
97Venezuela5.3South America
98Fiji5.3Oceania
99Slovakia5.4Europe
100Pakistan5.4Asia
101Kenya5.4Africa
102Azerbaijan5.5Asia
103Denmark5.5Europe
104Guam5.6Oceania
105Austria5.6Europe
106Mauritius5.6Africa
107Belgium5.9Europe
108Zambia5.9Africa
109Brazil6.0South America
110Eritrea6.0Africa
111Puerto Rico6.0North America
112Romania6.0Europe
113Portugal6.2Europe
114Central African Republic6.3Africa
115Luxembourg6.3Europe
116Italy6.4Europe
117The Gambia6.5Africa
118Barbados6.5North America
119Latvia6.6Europe
120Mozambique6.6Africa
121Lithuania6.7Europe
122Egypt6.8Africa
123Costa Rica6.8North America
124Canada6.9North America
125Tajikistan6.9Asia
126Serbia7.1Europe
127Argentina7.1South America
128Uruguay7.5South America
129France7.5Europe
130Suriname7.8South America
131Colombia8.3South America
132Iran8.3Asia
133Estonia8.3Europe
134Equatorial Guinea8.3Africa
135Panama8.4North America
136Türkiye8.5Asia
137Greece8.5Europe
138Sweden8.7Europe
139Belize8.9North America
140Chile9.0South America
141Morocco9.0Africa
142São Tomé and Principe9.1Africa
143Bahamas9.2North America
144Zimbabwe9.3Africa
145Saint Lucia9.5North America
146Finland9.5Europe
147Mauritania10.3Africa
148Spain10.4Europe
149Nepal10.5Asia
150Albania10.9Europe
151Bosnia and Herzegovina11.0Europe
152New Caledonia11.2Oceania
153Rwanda11.4Africa
154United States Virgin Islands11.4North America
155Algeria11.6Africa
156French Polynesia11.7Oceania
157Cabo Verde11.9Africa
158Guyana12.0South America
159Georgia12.1Asia
160North Macedonia12.3Europe
161Armenia12.9Asia
162Afghanistan13.4Asia
163Syria13.6Asia
164Montenegro13.6Europe
165Angola14.1Africa
166Haiti14.9North America
167Tunisia15.1Africa
168Iraq15.5Asia
169Lesotho16.3Africa
170Jordan16.5Asia
171Yemen17.3Asia
172Saint Vincent and the Grenadines18.0North America
173Libya18.8Africa
174Somalia18.9Africa
175Namibia19.3Africa
176Republic of the Congo19.9Africa
177Gabon20.2Africa
178Botswana24.5Africa
179Djibouti26.0Africa
180South Africa32.4Africa
181Eswatini34.2Africa
World Bank, WDI · SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS · 2025 · CC BY 4.0 Source and licence

Biggest changes, 2015-2025

change in percentage points · 181 countries

Largest increase

  1. Eswatini 23.4 → 34.2 +10.8 pp
  2. South Africa 25.1 → 32.4 +7.2 pp
  3. Botswana 18.9 → 24.5 +5.6 pp
  4. Iraq 10.9 → 15.5 +4.6 pp
  5. Afghanistan 9.0 → 13.4 +4.3 pp

Largest decrease

  1. Bosnia and Herzegovina 27.7 → 11.0 −16.7 pp
  2. Greece 25.0 → 8.5 −16.4 pp
  3. North Macedonia 26.4 → 12.3 −14.1 pp
  4. Spain 22.1 → 10.4 −11.7 pp
  5. Saint Lucia 20.8 → 9.5 −11.4 pp

Continents over time

median country of each continent

Unemployment - continent medians

%

Africa Asia Europe North America South America Oceania

2 4 6 8 10 12 1991 Africa: 6.6 Asia: 2.62 Europe: 7.08 North America: 7.91 South America: 6.16 Oceania: 4.62 1992 Africa: 6.7 Asia: 2.72 Europe: 7.83 North America: 7.88 South America: 6.72 Oceania: 4.64 1993 Africa: 6.32 Asia: 3.03 Europe: 10.18 North America: 9.27 South America: 6.32 Oceania: 5.53 1994 Africa: 6.11 Asia: 3.7 Europe: 9.65 North America: 7.86 South America: 7.41 Oceania: 7.6 1995 Africa: 6.48 Asia: 3.63 Europe: 9.66 North America: 7.65 South America: 7.74 Oceania: 6.46 1996 Africa: 7.09 Asia: 4.15 Europe: 9.68 North America: 7.61 South America: 9.52 Oceania: 6.29 1997 Africa: 7.26 Asia: 3.87 Europe: 10.19 North America: 7.1 South America: 9.78 Oceania: 6.86 1998 Africa: 7.33 Asia: 4.63 Europe: 9.94 North America: 7.17 South America: 9.76 Oceania: 7.68 1999 Africa: 7.42 Asia: 5.47 Europe: 11.57 North America: 7.2 South America: 11.14 Oceania: 6.88 2000 Africa: 7.44 Asia: 4.76 Europe: 10.22 North America: 6.96 South America: 11.4 Oceania: 6.13 2001 Africa: 7.46 Asia: 4.82 Europe: 8.61 North America: 7.22 South America: 11.22 Oceania: 5.43 2002 Africa: 6.71 Asia: 5.52 Europe: 8.48 North America: 7.52 South America: 10.91 Oceania: 5.28 2003 Africa: 5.91 Asia: 5.65 Europe: 8.31 North America: 7.57 South America: 10.75 Oceania: 5.18 2004 Africa: 5.92 Asia: 5.83 Europe: 8.3 North America: 6.8 South America: 10.12 Oceania: 5.16 2005 Africa: 5.82 Asia: 5.59 Europe: 7.93 North America: 6.76 South America: 9.95 Oceania: 5.04 2006 Africa: 5.71 Asia: 4.68 Europe: 7.14 North America: 6.48 South America: 9.08 Oceania: 4.79 2007 Africa: 5.72 Asia: 4.33 Europe: 6.41 North America: 6.16 South America: 8.45 Oceania: 4.38 2008 Africa: 5.68 Asia: 4.72 Europe: 6.37 North America: 6.2 South America: 7.93 Oceania: 4.24 2009 Africa: 5.76 Asia: 5.32 Europe: 8.25 North America: 8.16 South America: 8.19 Oceania: 5.57 2010 Africa: 5.85 Asia: 4.94 Europe: 8.39 North America: 7.83 South America: 7.15 Oceania: 5.21 2011 Africa: 5.8 Asia: 4.55 Europe: 8.2 North America: 8.03 South America: 7.04 Oceania: 5.08 2012 Africa: 5.69 Asia: 4.21 Europe: 8.84 North America: 8.07 South America: 6.7 Oceania: 5.23 2013 Africa: 5.57 Asia: 4.28 Europe: 8.63 North America: 7.38 South America: 6.52 Oceania: 5.66 2014 Africa: 5.64 Asia: 4.29 Europe: 8.66 North America: 7.08 South America: 6.76 Oceania: 5.43 2015 Africa: 5.95 Asia: 4.52 Europe: 8.48 North America: 7.58 South America: 6.91 Oceania: 5.42 2016 Africa: 5.77 Asia: 4.46 Europe: 7.58 North America: 7.04 South America: 7.38 Oceania: 5.2 2017 Africa: 5.1 Asia: 4.31 Europe: 6.56 North America: 6.43 South America: 7.57 Oceania: 5.25 2018 Africa: 5.07 Asia: 4.35 Europe: 5.59 North America: 5.84 South America: 7.72 Oceania: 5.35 2019 Africa: 5.54 Asia: 4.56 Europe: 5.02 North America: 6.26 South America: 7.62 Oceania: 5.14 2020 Africa: 6.03 Asia: 5.33 Europe: 5.64 North America: 9.66 South America: 9.69 Oceania: 5.05 2021 Africa: 6.21 Asia: 5 Europe: 6.25 North America: 7.9 South America: 8.72 Oceania: 5.02 2022 Africa: 6.07 Asia: 4.56 Europe: 5.28 North America: 6 South America: 7.34 Oceania: 5.05 2023 Africa: 5.89 Asia: 4.01 Europe: 5.41 North America: 5.73 South America: 6.92 Oceania: 4.92 2024 Africa: 5.9 Asia: 3.74 Europe: 5.33 North America: 5.64 South America: 6.98 Oceania: 4.86 2025 Africa: 5.92 Asia: 3.77 Europe: 5.56 North America: 5.99 South America: 6.56 Oceania: 5.07 1991 2001 2006 2011 2016 2025

By continent

median country
Africa 5.9 %
Asia 3.8 %
Europe 5.6 %
North America 6.0 %
South America 6.6 %
Oceania 5.1 %

Tick a country in the table to add it to the chart above, up to six at a time. The ranking uses the latest year for which at least half of the countries have a value; countries without a value that year are not listed.