Youth unemployment rate (modelled ILO estimate) in South America

12 countries in South America, 2025. Unit: % of labour force aged 15-24. World ranking →

First in the ranking
5.0 %
Bolivia
Median country
15.8 %
half above, half below
World
13.4 %
World Bank aggregate
Range
5.0 to 25.4
Bolivia - Suriname

How to read it

Across 12 countries in South America, the highest value is in Suriname (25.4 %) and the lowest in Bolivia (5.0 %).

The median country is at 15.8 %: half are above, half below.

Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 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.1524.ZS) · licence

Youth unemployment over time

%

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Ranking of countries

2025
In chart Share of the highest value
1Bolivia5.0
2Ecuador8.2
3Peru9.5
4Venezuela10.4
5Paraguay11.7
6Brazil14.0
7Colombia17.7
8Argentina19.2
9Chile21.6
10Guyana24.9
11Uruguay25.1
12Suriname25.4
World Bank, WDI · SL.UEM.1524.ZS · 2025 · CC BY 4.0 Source and licence

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.