Mali's unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic education) was 10.29% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 3.13 percentage points from 7.16% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 10.29% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 4.17% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 7.16% | 2014 |
| Highest | 12.54% | 2023 |
| Lowest | 2.12% | 2016 |
| Average since 2015 | 8.34% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 4.62% | 2009 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Mali's unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic education) fell 2.25 percentage points on 2023 (from 12.54% to 10.29%).
Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2014 to 2023), the average change was −0.17 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.02 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below 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 9.33 percentage points in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 10.08 percentage points in 2016. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 13% of the movement over 9 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Mali had the 23rd highest value of the 63 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 Mali in the 2024 ranking
What this measures
The percentage of the labor force with a basic level of education who are unemployed. Basic education comprises primary education or lower secondary education according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011).
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 12 values
| Year | Unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic education) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 10.29 |
| 2023 | 12.54 |
| 2022 | 11.34 |
| 2021 | no data |
| 2020 | 8.78 |
| 2019 | 4.17 |
| 2018 | 2.15 |
| 2017 | 11.45 |
| 2016 | 2.12 |
| 2015 | 12.2 |
Unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic education) in nearby economies
- Angola — 20.53% (2024)
- Ghana — 3.27% (2024)
- Mauritius — 4.98% (2024)
- South Africa — 39.28% (2024)
- Tanzania — 1.74% (2024)
More social protection & labor data for Mali
- Net migration — -48,019 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 286,715 (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 44.45% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 60.78% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 52.72% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 54.32% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 82.32% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Mali's unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic education)?
- 10.29% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2009?
- It is up 5.67 percentage points from 4.62% in 2009. The highest value was 12.54% in 2023 and the lowest 2.12% in 2016.
- How does Mali rank?
- 23rd highest of 63 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic education) unusual for Mali?
- In 2024, Mali's unemployment with basic education (% of total labor force with basic education) fell 2.25 percentage points on 2023 (from 12.54% to 10.29%). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2014 to 2023), the average change was −0.17 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.02 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below 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.BASC.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: March 30, 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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