Guinea-Bissau: Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (modeled ILO estimate)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Guinea-Bissau's unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) rose 0.08 percentage points on 2024 (from 1.83% to 1.91%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.19 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.32 percentage points in 1998 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.82 percentage points in 2019. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.12 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 74% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, Guinea-Bissau had the 169th highest value of the 182 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Guinea-Bissau in the 2025 ranking

• Papua New Guinea — 166th of 182: 2.09%
• Macao SAR, China — 167th of 182: 2.05%
• Togo — 168th of 182: 2.03%
• Cuba — 170th of 182: 1.89%
• Timor-Leste — 171st of 182: 1.63%
• Solomon Islands — 172nd of 182: 1.42%

What this measures

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

Limitations: The criteria for people considered to be seeking work, and the treatment of people temporarily laid off or seeking work for the first time, vary across countries. In many cases it is especially difficult to measure employment and unemployment in agriculture. The timing of a survey can maximize the effects of seasonal unemployment in agriculture. And informal sector employment is difficult to quantify where informal activities are not tracked.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 35 values

Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) in nearby economies

• Angola — 14.26% (2025)
• Benin — 1.38% (2025)
• Botswana — 27.88% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 4.26% (2025)
• Burundi — 0.81% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 11.39% (2025)
• Cameroon — 4.15% (2025)
• Central African Republic — 7% (2025)
• Chad

More social protection & labor data for Guinea-Bissau

• Net migration — -1,373 (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin — 1,800 (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 24 (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 41.39% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 48.5% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 44.97% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 61.59% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Guinea-Bissau's unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (modeled ILO estimate)?

1.91% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1991?

It is down 0.77 percentage points from 2.68% in 1991. The highest value was 2.97% in 2000 and the lowest 1.82% in 2023.

How does Guinea-Bissau rank?

169th highest of 182 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) unusual for Guinea-Bissau?

In 2025, Guinea-Bissau's unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) rose 0.08 percentage points on 2024 (from 1.83% to 1.91%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.19 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.UEM.TOTL.FE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: January 17, 2026 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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