Of the economies in the World Bank's latest release, West Bank and Gaza has the highest unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) (40% in 2022) and Cambodia the lowest (0.23% in 2025). The world figure is 4.94% (2025).
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.
Each country's latest available year is shown; countries report on different schedules, so compare years before comparing values.
Ranking
| # | Economy | Latest value | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Bank and Gaza | 40% | 2022 |
| 2 | Eswatini | 36.03% | 2025 |
| 3 | Djibouti | 35.43% | 2025 |
| 4 | South Africa | 34% | 2025 |
| 5 | Yemen, Rep. | 30.34% | 2025 |
| 6 | Iraq | 30.09% | 2025 |
| 7 | Gabon | 28.58% | 2025 |
| 8 | Botswana | 27.88% | 2025 |
| 9 | Syrian Arab Republic | 26.08% | 2025 |
| 10 | Libya | 25.19% | 2025 |
| 11 | Afghanistan | 25% | 2025 |
| 12 | Somalia, Fed. Rep. | 24.58% | 2025 |
| 13 | Jordan | 23.34% | 2025 |
| 14 | Congo, Rep. | 21.13% | 2025 |
| 15 | Algeria | 20.65% | 2025 |
| 16 | Tunisia | 20.42% | 2025 |
| 17 | Lesotho | 18.45% | 2025 |
| 18 | Namibia | 18.4% | 2025 |
| 19 | Haiti | 18.03% | 2025 |
| 20 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 15.97% | 2025 |
| 21 | Iran, Islamic Rep. | 15.59% | 2025 |
| 22 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 15.31% | 2025 |
| 23 | Mauritania | 14.74% | 2025 |
| 24 | Lebanon | 14.48% | 2023 |
| 25 | Angola | 14.26% | 2025 |
| 26 | Montenegro | 14.24% | 2025 |
| 27 | Sudan | 14.01% | 2022 |
| 28 | Armenia | 13.76% | 2025 |
| 29 | South Sudan | 13.59% | 2023 |
| 30 | Belize | 13.46% | 2025 |
| 31 | Guyana | 13.44% | 2025 |
| 32 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 13.26% | 2025 |
| 33 | Rwanda | 12.83% | 2025 |
| 34 | French Polynesia | 12.54% | 2025 |
| 35 | Virgin Islands (US) | 12.22% | 2025 |
| 36 | New Caledonia | 12.08% | 2025 |
| 37 | Spain | 11.94% | 2025 |
| 38 | Nepal | 11.82% | 2025 |
| 39 | Türkiye | 11.65% | 2025 |
| 40 | Cabo Verde | 11.39% | 2025 |
| 41 | Greece | 11.33% | 2025 |
| 42 | Albania | 11.18% | 2025 |
| 43 | Oman | 11.14% | 2025 |
| 44 | North Macedonia | 11.12% | 2025 |
| 45 | Suriname | 10.84% | 2025 |
| 46 | St. Lucia | 10.73% | 2025 |
| 47 | Georgia | 10.66% | 2025 |
| 48 | Morocco | 10.63% | 2025 |
| 49 | Colombia | 10.51% | 2025 |
| 50 | Panama | 10.42% | 2025 |
| 51 | Ukraine | 10.15% | 2021 |
| 52 | Saudi Arabia | 9.69% | 2025 |
| 53 | Chile | 9.62% | 2025 |
| 54 | Zimbabwe | 9.37% | 2025 |
| 55 | Equatorial Guinea | 9.29% | 2025 |
| 56 | São Tomé and Principe | 9.28% | 2025 |
| 57 | Bahamas, The | 9.16% | 2025 |
| 58 | Finland | 8.87% | 2025 |
| 59 | Uruguay | 8.65% | 2025 |
| 60 | Sweden | 8.6% | 2025 |
| 61 | Argentina | 8.14% | 2025 |
| 62 | Estonia | 8.03% | 2025 |
| 63 | Costa Rica | 7.79% | 2025 |
| 64 | Dominican Republic | 7.7% | 2025 |
| 65 | Mauritius | 7.62% | 2025 |
| 66 | France | 7.54% | 2025 |
| 67 | Serbia | 7.5% | 2025 |
| 68 | Brazil | 7.33% | 2025 |
| 69 | Italy | 7.32% | 2025 |
| 70 | Samoa | 7.29% | 2025 |
| 71 | Mozambique | 7.18% | 2025 |
| 72 | Central African Republic | 7% | 2025 |
| 73 | Barbados | 6.96% | 2025 |
| 74 | Pakistan | 6.94% | 2025 |
| 75 | Fiji | 6.87% | 2025 |
| 76 | Kenya | 6.74% | 2025 |
| 77 | Eritrea | 6.73% | 2025 |
| 78 | Uzbekistan | 6.63% | 2025 |
| 79 | Canada | 6.56% | 2025 |
| 80 | Portugal | 6.53% | 2025 |
| 81 | Sri Lanka | 6.48% | 2025 |
| 82 | Luxembourg | 6.47% | 2025 |
| 83 | Channel Islands | 6.46% | 2025 |
| 84 | Honduras | 6.4% | 2025 |
| 85 | Lithuania | 6.35% | 2025 |
| 86 | Azerbaijan | 6.27% | 2025 |
| 87 | Vanuatu | 6.24% | 2025 |
| 88 | Zambia | 6.16% | 2025 |
| 89 | Gambia, The | 6.12% | 2025 |
| 90 | Paraguay | 6.1% | 2025 |
| 91 | Kuwait | 6.02% | 2025 |
| 92 | Malawi | 6.01% | 2025 |
| 93 | Venezuela, RB | 5.84% | 2025 |
| 94 | Peru | 5.78% | 2025 |
| 95 | Slovak Republic | 5.77% | 2025 |
| 96 | Denmark | 5.72% | 2025 |
| 97 | Belgium | 5.63% | 2025 |
| 98 | Romania | 5.56% | 2025 |
| 99 | Latvia | 5.52% | 2025 |
| 100 | Kazakhstan | 5.46% | 2025 |
| 101 | Cyprus | 5.46% | 2025 |
| 102 | Guam | 5.39% | 2025 |
| 103 | New Zealand | 5.28% | 2025 |
| 104 | Brunei Darussalam | 5.27% | 2025 |
| 105 | Austria | 5.17% | 2025 |
| 106 | Nicaragua | 5.16% | 2025 |
| 107 | Croatia | 5.13% | 2025 |
| 108 | Puerto Rico (US) | 5.07% | 2025 |
| 109 | Switzerland | 5.04% | 2025 |
| 110 | Guinea | 5.04% | 2025 |
| 111 | Ethiopia | 4.53% | 2025 |
| 112 | Ireland | 4.53% | 2025 |
| 113 | Mongolia | 4.5% | 2025 |
| 114 | United Kingdom | 4.41% | 2025 |
| 115 | Comoros | 4.4% | 2025 |
| 116 | Hungary | 4.4% | 2025 |
| 117 | Norway | 4.35% | 2025 |
| 118 | Jamaica | 4.29% | 2025 |
| 119 | Burkina Faso | 4.26% | 2025 |
| 120 | United Arab Emirates | 4.19% | 2025 |
| 121 | United States | 4.18% | 2025 |
| 122 | Cameroon | 4.15% | 2025 |
| 123 | India | 4.14% | 2025 |
| 124 | Ecuador | 4.1% | 2025 |
| 125 | Bhutan | 4.09% | 2025 |
| 126 | Netherlands | 4.08% | 2025 |
| 127 | Maldives | 4.08% | 2025 |
| 128 | Australia | 4.05% | 2025 |
| 129 | China | 4.01% | 2025 |
| 130 | Kyrgyz Republic | 4% | 2025 |
| 131 | Tajikistan | 4% | 2025 |
| 132 | Nigeria | 3.88% | 2025 |
| 133 | Trinidad and Tobago | 3.88% | 2025 |
| 134 | Malaysia | 3.86% | 2025 |
| 135 | Bangladesh | 3.67% | 2025 |
| 136 | Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | 3.65% | 2025 |
| 137 | Bahrain | 3.63% | 2025 |
| 138 | El Salvador | 3.57% | 2025 |
| 139 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | 3.55% | 2025 |
| 140 | Myanmar | 3.54% | 2025 |
| 141 | Germany | 3.41% | 2025 |
| 142 | Slovenia | 3.41% | 2025 |
| 143 | Israel | 3.37% | 2025 |
| 144 | Iceland | 3.35% | 2025 |
| 145 | Madagascar | 3.31% | 2025 |
| 146 | Czechia | 3.31% | 2025 |
| 147 | Bolivia | 3.31% | 2025 |
| 148 | Uganda | 3.29% | 2025 |
| 149 | Bulgaria | 3.29% | 2025 |
| 150 | Guatemala | 3.26% | 2025 |
| 151 | Ghana | 3.22% | 2025 |
| 152 | Poland | 3.15% | 2025 |
| 153 | Senegal | 3.11% | 2025 |
| 154 | Indonesia | 3.01% | 2025 |
| 155 | Mali | 3.01% | 2025 |
| 156 | Singapore | 2.87% | 2025 |
| 157 | Malta | 2.83% | 2025 |
| 158 | Mexico | 2.73% | 2025 |
| 159 | Korea, Rep. | 2.69% | 2025 |
| 160 | Belarus | 2.68% | 2025 |
| 161 | Côte d'Ivoire | 2.62% | 2025 |
| 162 | Tonga | 2.54% | 2025 |
| 163 | Turkmenistan | 2.48% | 2025 |
| 164 | Philippines | 2.48% | 2025 |
| 165 | Japan | 2.3% | 2025 |
| 166 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 2.28% | 2025 |
| 167 | Tanzania | 2.22% | 2025 |
| 168 | Liberia | 2.22% | 2025 |
| 169 | Russian Federation | 2.21% | 2025 |
| 170 | Sierra Leone | 2.11% | 2025 |
| 171 | Papua New Guinea | 2.09% | 2025 |
| 172 | Macao SAR, China | 2.05% | 2025 |
| 173 | Togo | 2.03% | 2025 |
| 174 | Guinea-Bissau | 1.91% | 2025 |
| 175 | Cuba | 1.89% | 2025 |
| 176 | Timor-Leste | 1.63% | 2025 |
| 177 | Solomon Islands | 1.42% | 2025 |
| 178 | Benin | 1.38% | 2025 |
| 179 | Viet Nam | 1.36% | 2025 |
| 180 | Moldova | 1.23% | 2025 |
| 181 | Lao PDR | 0.91% | 2025 |
| 182 | Thailand | 0.81% | 2025 |
| 183 | Burundi | 0.81% | 2025 |
| 184 | Chad | 0.69% | 2025 |
| 185 | Qatar | 0.39% | 2025 |
| 186 | Niger | 0.3% | 2025 |
| 187 | Cambodia | 0.23% | 2025 |
Regions and income groups
More social protection & labor indicators
- Employment in agriculture, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
- Employment in agriculture, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
- Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
- Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, female (%) (national estimate)
- Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate)
- Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, male (%) (national estimate)
- Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate)
- Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, total (%) (national estimate)
- Employment to population ratio, ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate)
- Employers, female (% of female employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
- Employers, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
- Employers, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
Reading data like this
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, SL.UEM.TOTL.FE.ZS, 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 View on data.worldbank.org; the full definition is in the World Bank's metadata glossary.
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