Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)

% of labour force. Ranking of 186 countries with data from 2022 to 2025. Series code SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS.

Medians

World	5.1%
Low income	4.4%
Upper middle income	5.5%
Lower middle income	5.1%
High income	5.1%
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	9.0%
Europe & Central Asia	5.6%
Sub-Saharan Africa	5.4%
Latin America & Caribbean	6.0%
East Asia & Pacific	3.0%
South Asia	4.1%
North America	5.6%

Ranking

Rank 1 is the highest value. It does not mean best or worst.

Filter by country, region or income group

Rank	Country	Value	Year	5-yr change	Z-score	Region	Income group
1	Eswatini	34.2%	2025	+1.2 pp	+0.8	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
2	South Africa	32.4%	2025	+3.2 pp	+0.9	Sub-Saharan Africa	Upper middle income
3	Djibouti	26.0%	2025	−1.7 pp	−0.6	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Lower middle income
4	Botswana	24.5%	2025	+3.5 pp	+1.6	Sub-Saharan Africa	Upper middle income
5	West Bank and Gaza	24.4%	2022	−1.3 pp	+0.3	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Lower middle income
6	Gabon	20.2%	2025	−1.1 pp	−0.6	Sub-Saharan Africa	Upper middle income
7	Congo, Rep.	19.9%	2025	−2.4 pp	−0.9	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
8	Namibia	19.3%	2025	−1.7 pp	−1.0	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
9	Somalia, Fed. Rep.	18.9%	2025	−0.5 pp	+0.1	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
10	Libya	18.8%	2025	−0.9 pp	−1.4	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Upper middle income
11	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	18.0%	2025	−2.6 pp	−1.6	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
12	Yemen, Rep.	17.3%	2025	−0.6 pp	−0.6	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Low income
13	Jordan	16.5%	2025	−2.7 pp	−0.3	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Upper middle income
14	Lesotho	16.3%	2025	−2.1 pp	−0.6	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
15	Iraq	15.5%	2025	−0.3 pp	+0.8	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Upper middle income
16	Tunisia	15.1%	2025	−2.5 pp	−0.8	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Lower middle income
17	Haiti	14.9%	2025	−0.6 pp	+0.9	Latin America & Caribbean	Lower middle income
18	Angola	14.1%	2025	−2.6 pp	−1.4	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
19	Montenegro	13.6%	2025	−4.3 pp	−1.2	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
20	Syrian Arab Republic	13.6%	2025	−1.6 pp	−0.4	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Low income
21	Afghanistan	13.4%	2025	+1.6 pp	+0.9	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Low income
22	Armenia	12.9%	2025	−5.3 pp	−1.3	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
23	South Sudan	12.4%	2023	−0.5 pp	−1.0	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
24	North Macedonia	12.3%	2025	−4.3 pp	−1.3	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
25	Georgia	12.1%	2025	+0.4 pp	−0.4	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
26	Guyana	12.0%	2025	−3.3 pp	−1.1	Latin America & Caribbean	High income
27	Cabo Verde	11.9%	2025	−2.7 pp	−0.6	Sub-Saharan Africa	Upper middle income
28	French Polynesia	11.7%	2025	−1.3 pp	−0.5	East Asia & Pacific	High income
29	Algeria	11.6%	2025	−2.4 pp	−0.4	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Upper middle income
30	Virgin Islands (U.S.)	11.4%	2025	−2.9 pp	−0.7	Latin America & Caribbean	High income
31	Rwanda	11.4%	2025	−0.5 pp	−0.6	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
32	New Caledonia	11.2%	2025	−2.4 pp	−0.6	East Asia & Pacific	High income
33	Bosnia and Herzegovina	11.0%	2025	−4.8 pp	−1.1	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
34	Lebanon	11.0%	2023	+0.2 pp	+0.3	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Lower middle income
35	Albania	10.9%	2025	−0.7 pp	−0.7	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
36	Nepal	10.5%	2025	−2.6 pp	−0.6	South Asia	Lower middle income
37	Spain	10.4%	2025	−5.2 pp	−1.6	Europe & Central Asia	High income
38	Mauritania	10.3%	2025	−0.7 pp	−0.5	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
39	Finland	9.5%	2025	+1.7 pp	+1.8	Europe & Central Asia	High income
40	St. Lucia	9.5%	2025	−15.8 pp	−1.9	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
41	Zimbabwe	9.3%	2025	+0.7 pp	+0.8	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
42	Bahamas, The	9.2%	2025	−2.8 pp	−0.8	Latin America & Caribbean	High income
43	Sao Tome and Principe	9.1%	2025	−0.5 pp	−0.3	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
44	Morocco	9.0%	2025	−2.2 pp	−0.8	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Lower middle income
45	Chile	9.0%	2025	−2.0 pp	+0.6	Latin America & Caribbean	High income
46	Belize	8.9%	2025	−1.9 pp	+0.2	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
47	Sweden	8.7%	2025	+0.4 pp	+1.5	Europe & Central Asia	High income
48	Greece	8.5%	2025	−7.4 pp	−1.6	Europe & Central Asia	High income
49	Turkiye	8.5%	2025	−4.6 pp	−1.7	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
50	Panama	8.4%	2025	−6.3 pp	+0.3	Latin America & Caribbean	High income
51	Equatorial Guinea	8.3%	2025	−0.3 pp	+0.5	Sub-Saharan Africa	Upper middle income
52	Estonia	8.3%	2025	+1.4 pp	+2.4	Europe & Central Asia	High income
53	Iran, Islamic Rep.	8.3%	2025	−1.4 pp	−1.2	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Upper middle income
54	Colombia	8.3%	2025	−7.7 pp	−1.0	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
55	Suriname	7.8%	2025	−1.1 pp	−0.2	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
56	France	7.5%	2025	−0.5 pp	−0.9	Europe & Central Asia	High income
57	Sudan	7.5%	2022	−5.5 pp	−3.0	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
58	Uruguay	7.5%	2025	−2.9 pp	−1.1	Latin America & Caribbean	High income
59	Argentina	7.1%	2025	−4.3 pp	−0.8	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
60	Serbia	7.1%	2025	−1.9 pp	−1.2	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
61	Tajikistan	6.9%	2025	−0.6 pp	−0.9	Europe & Central Asia	Lower middle income
62	Canada	6.9%	2025	−2.8 pp	+0.2	North America	High income
63	Costa Rica	6.8%	2025	−9.6 pp	−1.0	Latin America & Caribbean	High income
64	Egypt, Arab Rep.	6.8%	2025	−1.2 pp	−0.9	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Lower middle income
65	Lithuania	6.7%	2025	−1.8 pp	−0.4	Europe & Central Asia	High income
66	Mozambique	6.6%	2025	+1.6 pp	+1.2	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
67	Latvia	6.6%	2025	−1.5 pp	−1.0	Europe & Central Asia	High income
68	Barbados	6.5%	2025	−4.1 pp	−1.3	Latin America & Caribbean	High income
69	Gambia, The	6.5%	2025	+0.7 pp	+0.7	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
70	Italy	6.4%	2025	−2.8 pp	−1.8	Europe & Central Asia	High income
71	Luxembourg	6.3%	2025	−0.4 pp	+0.6	Europe & Central Asia	High income
72	Central African Republic	6.3%	2025	−0.3 pp	+0.4	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
73	Channel Islands	6.2%	2025	−0.5 pp	−0.6	Europe & Central Asia	High income
74	Portugal	6.2%	2025	−0.7 pp	−0.8	Europe & Central Asia	High income
75	Romania	6.0%	2025	+1.0 pp	+0.8	Europe & Central Asia	High income
76	Puerto Rico (US)	6.0%	2025	−2.9 pp	−1.1	Latin America & Caribbean	High income
77	Eritrea	6.0%	2025	−0.4 pp	+0.1	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
78	Brazil	6.0%	2025	−7.7 pp	−2.0	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
79	Zambia	5.9%	2025	−0.1 pp	+0.8	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
80	Belgium	5.9%	2025	+0.4 pp	−0.4	Europe & Central Asia	High income
81	Mauritius	5.6%	2025	−3.0 pp	−1.2	Sub-Saharan Africa	Upper middle income
82	Austria	5.6%	2025	+0.4 pp	+0.3	Europe & Central Asia	High income
83	Guam	5.6%	2025	−0.7 pp	−0.2	East Asia & Pacific	High income
84	Denmark	5.5%	2025	−0.1 pp	+0.3	Europe & Central Asia	High income
85	Azerbaijan	5.5%	2025	−1.8 pp	−0.1	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
86	Kenya	5.4%	2025	−0.2 pp	+0.7	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
87	Pakistan	5.4%	2025	−0.6 pp	+0.6	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	Lower middle income
88	Slovak Republic	5.4%	2025	−1.4 pp	−1.0	Europe & Central Asia	High income
89	Fiji	5.3%	2025	+0.3 pp	+1.1	East Asia & Pacific	Upper middle income
90	Venezuela, RB	5.3%	2025	−2.2 pp	−0.7	Latin America & Caribbean	Lower middle income
91	Brunei Darussalam	5.3%	2025	−2.1 pp	−1.0	East Asia & Pacific	High income
92	Mongolia	5.2%	2025	−1.2 pp	−0.8	East Asia & Pacific	Upper middle income
93	Guinea	5.2%	2025	−0.8 pp	−0.1	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
94	Peru	5.1%	2025	−2.1 pp	+0.6	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
95	Dominican Republic	5.1%	2025	−1.0 pp	−1.4	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
96	New Zealand	5.1%	2025	+0.5 pp	+1.0	East Asia & Pacific	High income
97	Vanuatu	5.1%	2025	+1.0 pp	+0.1	East Asia & Pacific	Lower middle income
98	Malawi	5.1%	2025	−0.6 pp	−0.3	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
99	Nicaragua	5.0%	2025	−1.1 pp	+0.1	Latin America & Caribbean	Lower middle income
100	Croatia	5.0%	2025	−2.4 pp	−1.1	Europe & Central Asia	High income
101	Samoa	5.0%	2025	−2.5 pp	−1.3	East Asia & Pacific	Upper middle income
102	Cyprus	4.9%	2025	−2.8 pp	−1.2	Europe & Central Asia	High income
103	Honduras	4.9%	2025	−6.1 pp	−1.0	Latin America & Caribbean	Lower middle income
104	Switzerland	4.9%	2025	+0.1 pp	+0.8	Europe & Central Asia	High income
105	Paraguay	4.8%	2025	−2.7 pp	−1.5	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
106	Kazakhstan	4.8%	2025	−0.1 pp	−0.8	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
107	United Kingdom	4.7%	2025	+0.3 pp	+0.6	Europe & Central Asia	High income
108	Norway	4.6%	2025	+0.2 pp	+1.4	Europe & Central Asia	High income
109	Ireland	4.6%	2025	−1.0 pp	−0.8	Europe & Central Asia	High income
110	Uzbekistan	4.6%	2025	−0.7 pp	−0.9	Europe & Central Asia	Lower middle income
111	China	4.6%	2025	−0.4 pp	−0.1	East Asia & Pacific	Upper middle income
112	Hungary	4.5%	2025	+0.3 pp	+0.2	Europe & Central Asia	High income
113	Maldives	4.5%	2025	−0.9 pp	−0.7	South Asia	Upper middle income
114	Congo, Dem. Rep.	4.4%	2025	−0.9 pp	−0.8	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
115	Turkmenistan	4.3%	2025	−0.2 pp	+0.8	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
116	India	4.2%	2025	−3.6 pp	−1.5	South Asia	Lower middle income
117	United States	4.2%	2025	−3.9 pp	−0.4	North America	High income
118	Australia	4.1%	2025	−2.3 pp	−1.0	East Asia & Pacific	High income
119	Sri Lanka	4.0%	2025	−1.4 pp	−1.4	South Asia	Upper middle income
120	Netherlands	3.9%	2025	+0.1 pp	−0.4	Europe & Central Asia	High income
121	Comoros	3.8%	2025	−0.6 pp	−1.0	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
122	Bangladesh	3.8%	2025	−1.8 pp	−1.0	South Asia	Lower middle income
123	Malaysia	3.8%	2025	−0.8 pp	+0.1	East Asia & Pacific	Upper middle income
124	Germany	3.7%	2025	−0.2 pp	+0.2	Europe & Central Asia	High income
125	Iceland	3.6%	2025	−1.9 pp	−0.2	Europe & Central Asia	High income
126	Cameroon	3.6%	2025	−0.3 pp	−0.4	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
127	Korea, Dem. People's Rep.	3.5%	2025	−0.1 pp	+0.3	East Asia & Pacific	Low income
128	Bulgaria	3.5%	2025	−1.5 pp	−1.2	Europe & Central Asia	High income
129	Kyrgyz Republic	3.5%	2025	−2.4 pp	−1.3	Europe & Central Asia	Lower middle income
130	Israel	3.5%	2025	−0.7 pp	−1.1	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	High income
131	Burkina Faso	3.5%	2025	−1.1 pp	−1.7	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
132	Belarus	3.4%	2025	−0.7 pp	−1.1	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
133	Trinidad and Tobago	3.3%	2025	−0.9 pp	−0.4	Latin America & Caribbean	High income
134	Ethiopia	3.3%	2025	−0.7 pp	+0.3	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
135	Ecuador	3.3%	2025	−2.8 pp	−0.9	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
136	El Salvador	3.3%	2025	−1.7 pp	−1.0	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
137	Jamaica	3.3%	2025	−3.2 pp	−1.2	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
138	Oman	3.3%	2025	+0.3 pp	+0.8	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	High income
139	Indonesia	3.2%	2025	−1.0 pp	−1.4	East Asia & Pacific	Upper middle income
140	Bhutan	3.2%	2025	−1.8 pp	−0.4	South Asia	Lower middle income
141	Slovenia	3.2%	2025	−1.8 pp	−1.2	Europe & Central Asia	High income
142	Sierra Leone	3.2%	2025	−0.4 pp	−0.8	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
143	Nigeria	3.1%	2025	−2.7 pp	−1.5	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
144	Myanmar	3.0%	2025	+1.6 pp	+0.9	East Asia & Pacific	Lower middle income
145	Madagascar	3.0%	2025	−0.3 pp	+0.6	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
146	Saudi Arabia	3.0%	2025	−4.6 pp	−2.2	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	High income
147	Ghana	3.0%	2025	−0.2 pp	−0.5	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
148	Poland	3.0%	2025	−0.2 pp	−0.7	Europe & Central Asia	High income
149	Bolivia	3.0%	2025	−4.9 pp	−0.7	Latin America & Caribbean	Lower middle income
150	Malta	2.9%	2025	−2.0 pp	−1.7	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	High income
151	Liberia	2.9%	2025	−1.2 pp	−0.6	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
152	Mali	2.8%	2025	−0.7 pp	+0.3	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
153	Czechia	2.8%	2025	+0.3 pp	−0.1	Europe & Central Asia	High income
154	Singapore	2.8%	2025	−1.3 pp	−1.6	East Asia & Pacific	High income
155	Hong Kong SAR, China	2.8%	2025	−3.0 pp	−0.8	East Asia & Pacific	High income
156	Uganda	2.7%	2025	−1.1 pp	−1.0	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
157	Senegal	2.7%	2025	−0.7 pp	−0.8	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
158	Korea, Rep.	2.7%	2025	−1.2 pp	−1.6	East Asia & Pacific	High income
159	Guinea-Bissau	2.7%	2025	−0.2 pp	−0.8	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
160	Mexico	2.7%	2025	−1.8 pp	−1.5	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
161	Guatemala	2.6%	2025	−0.4 pp	+0.3	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
162	Papua New Guinea	2.6%	2025	−0.3 pp	−0.6	East Asia & Pacific	Lower middle income
163	Japan	2.5%	2025	−0.4 pp	−0.9	East Asia & Pacific	High income
164	Macao SAR, China	2.3%	2025	−0.2 pp	+0.9	East Asia & Pacific	High income
165	Cote d'Ivoire	2.3%	2025	−0.3 pp	−0.5	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
166	Philippines	2.2%	2025	−0.3 pp	−0.9	East Asia & Pacific	Upper middle income
167	Kuwait	2.2%	2025	−1.3 pp	−0.4	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	High income
168	United Arab Emirates	2.2%	2025	−2.1 pp	−0.4	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	High income
169	Russian Federation	2.1%	2025	−3.5 pp	−2.2	Europe & Central Asia	High income
170	Tonga	2.0%	2025	−0.7 pp	−0.4	East Asia & Pacific	Upper middle income
171	Togo	2.0%	2025	−0.2 pp	−0.7	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
172	Cuba	1.7%	2025	−0.5 pp	−0.7	Latin America & Caribbean	Upper middle income
173	Timor-Leste	1.6%	2025	−1.2 pp	−1.1	East Asia & Pacific	Lower middle income
174	Benin	1.6%	2025	+0.1 pp	−0.2	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
175	Tanzania	1.6%	2025	−0.2 pp	−1.2	Sub-Saharan Africa	Lower middle income
176	Viet Nam	1.5%	2025	−0.6 pp	−0.8	East Asia & Pacific	Upper middle income
177	Moldova	1.5%	2025	+0.3 pp	+0.4	Europe & Central Asia	Upper middle income
178	Solomon Islands	1.4%	2025	+0.6 pp	+1.4	East Asia & Pacific	Lower middle income
179	Lao PDR	1.2%	2025	−1.2 pp	−1.3	East Asia & Pacific	Lower middle income
180	Bahrain	1.1%	2025	−0.7 pp	−0.7	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	High income
181	Chad	1.1%	2025	−0.6 pp	−0.6	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
182	Burundi	0.9%	2025	−0.1 pp	−1.0	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
183	Thailand	0.8%	2025	−0.3 pp	−0.3	East Asia & Pacific	Upper middle income
184	Niger	0.4%	2025	−0.2 pp	−1.1	Sub-Saharan Africa	Low income
185	Cambodia	0.3%	2025	+0.1 pp	−0.1	East Asia & Pacific	Lower middle income
186	Qatar	0.1%	2025	0.0 pp	−0.2	Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan	High income

1 further countries have data for this indicator but nothing recent enough to rank.

How the advanced metrics are calculated. Change: latest value minus the value 5 or 10 years earlier, using the nearest observation within two years where the exact year is missing (percentage points for % series). CAGR: (latest ÷ earlier value)^(1 ÷ years between) − 1 over about 10 years, shown only for positive levels such as income and population. Volatility: standard deviation of the 10 observations before the latest. Z-score: how many standard deviations the latest value sits from that 10-year mean. Rank: among countries whose latest value is within 3 years of the newest year for that indicator; 1 is the highest value. Peer medians: the same group of recent values, split by income group, region and world. Share of high-income median: the country's value as a percentage of the median high-income country in the same year, compared with 10 years earlier. A rising share means the country is catching up; it is arithmetic about the past, not a forecast.

Source. World Bank, World Development Indicators (datacatalog.worldbank.org), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Data retrieved 2026-11-11. Some series are compiled by third parties such as the ILO and UN agencies and are subject to those sources' notes.

Changes made. ECONDEX has calculated all changes, growth rates, volatility, z-scores, ranks, peer medians and charts. The World Bank did not prepare, review or endorse them.

Read with care. The latest figure for each country is often one to three years old and different countries report different years. Some figures are modelled estimates. Ranks compare countries on values from different years and are not judgements of performance. Country names, groupings and boundaries follow World Bank usage and imply no view on the legal status of any territory.

Not advice. For information only. This is not investment, financial, legal or policy advice. Do not rely on it for decisions without checking the source.