The Law To Know

Law in Charts · Work and identity

Unemployment

What share of the labour force is without work and looking for it, in each country?

187 of 187 shown in the list

% of the labour force

  1. Eswatini34.2% 2025
  2. South Africa32.4% 2025
  3. Djibouti26.0% 2025
  4. Botswana24.5% 2025
  5. West Bank and Gaza24.4% 2022
  6. Gabon20.2% 2025
  7. Republic of the Congo19.9% 2025
  8. Namibia19.3% 2025
  9. Somalia, Fed. Rep.18.9% 2025
  10. Libya18.8% 2025
  11. St. Vincent and the Grenadines18.0% 2025
  12. Yemen17.3% 2025
  13. Jordan16.5% 2025
  14. Lesotho16.3% 2025
  15. Iraq15.5% 2025
  16. Tunisia15.1% 2025
  17. Haiti14.9% 2025
  18. Angola14.1% 2025
  19. Montenegro13.6% 2025
  20. Syria13.6% 2025
  21. Afghanistan13.4% 2025
  22. Armenia12.9% 2025
  23. South Sudan12.4% 2023
  24. North Macedonia12.3% 2025
  25. Georgia12.1% 2025

Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external d, Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate), via the World Bank. Data for 2021 to 2025. What it counts, how to cite it and the data

At a glance

  • 187 countries or territories have a figure.
  • The highest is Eswatini at 34.2% (2025) and the lowest is Qatar at 0.1% (2025).
  • The middle value (the median) is 5.2%.

What it counts

People without work who are available for it and looking for it, as a share of the labour force (a modelled estimate by the International Labour Organization).

What it leaves out, and how far to trust a comparison

The figures are modelled estimates, and countries differ in who counts as looking for work and in how much work is informal. They say nothing about job security or the rights of workers.

Source

ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external d: Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate), via the World Bank, compiled in World Bank, World Development Indicators. Source licence: CC BY 4.0. Data retrieved 2026-10-23 to 2026-10-25.

Cite this chart

Free to use in teaching, articles, reports and slides, with credit. Our compilation is licensed CC BY 4.0; the source publishes the underlying data under its own licence, shown below.

Reference (APA style)

TheLawToKnow. (2026). Unemployment [Chart]. Law in Charts. https://tools.thelawtoknow.com/law-in-charts/unemployment-rate. Data: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external d, Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate), via the World Bank, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS (data retrieved 2026-10-23 to 2026-10-25).

Short credit for slides and websites

Chart: TheLawToKnow, Law in Charts (https://tools.thelawtoknow.com/law-in-charts/unemployment-rate). Data: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external d, via World Bank, World Development Indicators.

BibTeX

@misc{unemploymentrate2026,
  author = {{TheLawToKnow}},
  title = {Unemployment},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Law in Charts},
  url = {https://tools.thelawtoknow.com/law-in-charts/unemployment-rate},
  note = {Data: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external d, Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate), via the World Bank, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-23 to 2026-10-25.}
}

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