Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD): Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)'s unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate) fell 2.07 percentage points on 2020 (from 30.21% to 28.14%).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2020), the average change was +0.8 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.85 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 5.82 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.84 percentage points in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.45 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 46% of the movement over 8 observed years.

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

What this measures

Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country.

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 14 values

Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate) in nearby economies

• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 28.99% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 30.42% (2024)
• Israel — 4.67% (2025)
• Jordan — 33.76% (2024)
• Malta — 10.16% (2025)
• Morocco — 44.36% (2022)
• Pakistan — 13.23% (2025)
• Qatar — 1.26% (2024)

More social protection & labor data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)

• Net migration — -1.26 million (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 4.29 million (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin — 8.2 million (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 13.43% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 50.06% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)'s unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate)?

28.14% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2006?

It is up 7.22 percentage points from 20.92% in 2006. The highest value was 30.21% in 2020 and the lowest 20.21% in 2007.

Is the latest change in unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate) unusual for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.UEM.1524.FE.NE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 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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