Social Protection & Labor · Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
Yearly data from 1991 to 2025, from the World Bank.
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan's unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) was 12.07% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 2.15 percentage points from 14.22% in 2015.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 12.07% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 13.85% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 14.22% | 2015 |
| Highest | 14.22% | 2015 |
| Lowest | 10.76% | 2008 |
| Average since 2016 | 13.21% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 12.61% | 1991 |
Over five years it is down 1.78 percentage points from 13.85% in 2020. Since 1991 it is down 0.54 percentage points from 12.61% in 1991.
In 2025, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan's unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) fell 0.22 percentage points on 2024 (from 12.29% to 12.07%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.7 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 1.59 percentage points in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.87 percentage points in 1996. 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 0.21 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 64% 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.
See how every economy compares in the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 12.07% | 2025 |
| World | 4.94% | 2025 |
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.
| Year | Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 12.07 |
| 2024 | 12.29 |
| 2023 | 12.16 |
| 2022 | 12.78 |
| 2021 | 13.98 |
| 2020 | 13.85 |
| 2019 | 13.85 |
| 2018 | 13.69 |
| 2017 | 13.97 |
| 2016 | 13.44 |
| 2015 | 14.22 |
| 2014 | 12.63 |
| 2013 | 13.02 |
| 2012 | 13.15 |
| 2011 | 11.88 |
| 2010 | 11.7 |
| 2009 | 11.37 |
| 2008 | 10.76 |
| 2007 | 10.89 |
| 2006 | 11.71 |
| 2005 | 12.31 |
| 2004 | 12.48 |
| 2003 | 12.81 |
| 2002 | 13.33 |
| 2001 | 12.9 |
| 2000 | 12.74 |
| 1999 | 11.71 |
| 1998 | 11.46 |
| 1997 | 11.39 |
| 1996 | 11.25 |
| 1995 | 13.12 |
| 1994 | 12.56 |
| 1993 | 12.42 |
| 1992 | 11.62 |
| 1991 | 12.61 |
Every indicator for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan is on the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan data page.
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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