Unemployment rate

This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted.

Country Comparison Ranking

• Afghanistan

  23.9% (2017 est.)
  
  22.6% (2016 est.)

• Albania

  5.83% (2019 est.)
  
  6.32% (2018 est.)
  
  note: these official rates may not include those working at near-subsistence farming

• Algeria

  11.7% (2017 est.)
  
  10.5% (2016 est.)

• American Samoa

  29.8% (2005)

• Andorra

  3.7% (2016 est.)
  
  4.1% (2015 est.)

• Angola

  6.6% (2016 est.)

• Anguilla

  8% (2002)

• Antigua and Barbuda

  11% (2014 est.)

• Argentina

  9.84% (2019 est.)
  
  9.18% (2018 est.)

• Armenia

  18.9% (2017 est.)
  
  18.8% (2016 est.)

• Aruba

  7.7% (2016 est.)

• Australia

  5.16% (2019 est.)
  
  5.29% (2018 est.)

• Austria

  7.35% (2019 est.)
  
  7.7% (2018 est.)

• Azerbaijan

  5% (2017 est.)
  
  5% (2016 est.)

• Bahamas, The

  10.1% (2017 est.)
  
  12.2% (2016 est.)

• Bahrain

  3.6% (2017 est.)
  
  3.7% (2016 est.)
  
  note: official estimate; actual rate is higher

• Bangladesh

  4.4% (2017 est.)
  
  4.4% (2016 est.)
  
  note: about 40% of the population is underemployed; many persons counted as employed work only a few hours a week and at low wages

• Barbados

  10.1% (2017 est.)
  
  9.9% (2016 est.)

• Belarus

  0.8% (2017 est.)
  
  1% (2016 est.)
  
  note: official registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers

• Belgium

  5.36% (2019 est.)
  
  5.96% (2018 est.)

• Belize

  9% (2017 est.)
  
  8% (2016 est.)

• Benin

  1% (2014 est.)

• Bermuda

  7% (2017 est.)
  
  7% (2016 est.)

• Bhutan

  3.2% (2017 est.)
  
  3.2% (2016 est.)

• Bolivia

  4% (2017 est.)
  
  4% (2016 est.)
  
  note: data are for urban areas; widespread underemployment

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

  33.28% (2019 est.)
  
  35.97% (2018 est.)
  
  note: official rate; actual rate is lower as many technically unemployed persons work in the gray economy

• Botswana

  20% (2013 est.)
  
  17.8% (2009 est.)

• Brazil

  11.93% (2019 est.)
  
  12.26% (2018 est.)

• British Virgin Islands

  2.9% (2015 est.)

• Brunei

  6.9% (2017 est.)
  
  6.9% (2016 est.)

• Bulgaria

  5.66% (2019 est.)
  
  6.18% (2018 est.)

• Burkina Faso

  77% (2004)

• Burma

  4% (2017 est.)
  
  4% (2016 est.)

• Burundi

  NA

• Cabo Verde

  9% (2017 est.)
  
  9% (2016 est.)

• Cambodia

  0.3% (2017 est.)
  
  0.2% (2016 est.)
  
  note: high underemployment, according to official statistics

• Cameroon

  4.3% (2014 est.)
  
  30% (2001 est.)

• Canada

  5.67% (2019 est.)
  
  5.83% (2018 est.)

• Cayman Islands

  4% (2008)
  
  4.4% (2004)

• Central African Republic

  6.9% (2017 est.)

• Chad

  NA

• Chile

  7.22% (2019 est.)
  
  7.33% (2018 est.)

• China

  3.64% (2019 est.)
  
  3.84% (2018 est.)
  
  note: data are for registered urban unemployment, which excludes private enterprises and migrants

• Cocos (Keeling) Islands

  0.1% (2011)
  
  60% (2000 est.)

• Colombia

  10.5% (2019 est.)
  
  9.68% (2018 est.)

• Comoros

  6.5% (2014 est.)

• Congo, Democratic Republic of the

  NA

• Congo, Republic of the

  36% (2014 est.)

• Cook Islands

  13.1% (2005)

• Costa Rica

  8.1% (2017 est.)
  
  9.5% (2016 est.)

• Cote d'Ivoire

  9.4% (2013 est.)

• Croatia

  8.07% (2019 est.)
  
  9.86% (2018 est.)

• Cuba

  2.6% (2017 est.)
  
  2.4% (2016 est.)
  
  note: data are official rates; unofficial estimates are about double

• Curacao

  13% (2013 est.)
  
  9.8% (2011 est.)

• Cyprus

  7.07% (2019 est.)
  
  8.37% (2018 est.)

• Czechia

  2.8% (2019 est.)
  
  3.18% (2018 est.)

• Denmark

  3.05% (2019 est.)
  
  3.07% (2018 est.)

• Djibouti

  40% (2017 est.)
  
  60% (2014 est.)

• Dominica

  23% (2000 est.)

• Dominican Republic

  5.1% (2017 est.)
  
  5.5% (2016 est.)

• Ecuador

  5.71% (2019 est.)
  
  5.26% (2018 est.)

• Egypt

  7.86% (2019 est.)
  
  12.7% (2016 est.)

• El Salvador

  7% (2017 est.)
  
  6.9% (2016 est.)
  
  note: data are official rates; but underemployment is high

• Equatorial Guinea

  8.6% (2014 est.)
  
  22.3% (2009 est.)

• Eritrea

  5.8% (2017 est.)
  
  10% (2016 est.)

• Estonia

  4.94% (2019 est.)
  
  4.73% (2018 est.)

• Eswatini

  28% (2014 est.)
  
  28% (2013 est.)

• Ethiopia

  17.5% (2012 est.)
  
  18% (2011 est.)

• European Union

  8.6% (2016 est.)
  
  9.4% (2015 est.)

• Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

  1% (2016 est.)

• Faroe Islands

  2.2% (2017 est.)
  
  3.4% (2016 est.)

• Fiji

  4.5% (2017 est.)
  
  5.5% (2016 est.)

• Finland

  6.63% (2019 est.)
  
  7.38% (2018 est.)

• France

  8.12% (2019 est.)
  
  8.69% (2018 est.)
  
  note: includes overseas territories

• French Polynesia

  21.8% (2012)
  
  11.7% (2010)

• Gabon

  28% (2015 est.)
  
  20.4% (2014 est.)

• Gambia, The

  NA

• Gaza Strip

  27.9% (2017 est.)
  
  27% (2016 est.)
  
  note: data exclude the West Bank

• Georgia

  11.8% (2016 est.)

• Germany

  4.98% (2019 est.)
  
  5.19% (2018 est.)

• Ghana

  11.9% (2015 est.)
  
  5.2% (2013 est.)

• Gibraltar

  1% (2016 est.)

• Greece

  17.3% (2019 est.)
  
  19.34% (2018 est.)

• Greenland

  9.1% (2015 est.)
  
  10.3% (2014 est.)

• Grenada

  24% (2017 est.)
  
  28.2% (2016 est.)

• Guam

  4.5% (2017 est.)
  
  3.9% (2016 est.)

• Guatemala

  2.3% (2017 est.)
  
  2.4% (2016 est.)

• Guernsey

  1.2% (2016 est.)

• Guinea

  2.7% (2017 est.)
  
  2.8% (2016 est.)

• Guinea-Bissau

  NA

• Guyana

  11.1% (2013)
  
  11.3% (2012)

• Haiti

  40.6% (2010 est.)
  
  note: widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs

• Honduras

  5.6% (2017 est.)
  
  6.3% (2016 est.)
  
  note: about one-third of the people are underemployed

• Hong Kong

  2.93% (2019 est.)
  
  2.83% (2018 est.)

• Hungary

  3.45% (2019 est.)
  
  3.71% (2018 est.)

• Iceland

  3.62% (2019 est.)
  
  2.73% (2018 est.)

• India

  8.5% (2017 est.)
  
  8.5% (2016 est.)

• Indonesia

  5.31% (2018 est.)
  
  5.4% (2017 est.)

• Iran

  11.8% (2017 est.)
  
  12.4% (2016 est.)
  
  note: data are Iranian Government numbers

• Iraq

  16% (2012 est.)
  
  15% (2010 est.)

• Ireland

  4.98% (2019 est.)
  
  5.78% (2018 est.)

• Isle of Man

  1.1% (2017 est.)
  
  2% (April 2011 est.)

• Israel

  4.4% (2020 est.)
  
  3.81% (2019 est.)
  
  4% (2018 est.)

• Italy

  9.88% (2019 est.)
  
  10.63% (2018 est.)

• Jamaica

  7.72% (2019 est.)
  
  9.13% (2018 est.)

• Japan

  2.36% (2019 est.)
  
  2.44% (2018 est.)

• Jersey

  4% (2015 est.)
  
  4.6% (2014 est.)

• Jordan

  19.1% (2019 est.)
  
  18.61% (2018 est.)
  
  note: official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30%

• Kazakhstan

  4.8% (2019 est.)
  
  4.85% (2018 est.)

• Kenya

  40% (2013 est.)
  
  40% (2001 est.)

• Kiribati

  30.6% (2010 est.)
  
  6.1% (2005)

• Korea, North

  25.6% (2013 est.)
  
  25.5% (2012 est.)

• Korea, South

  3.76% (2019 est.)
  
  3.85% (2018 est.)

• Kosovo

  30.5% (2017 est.)
  
  27.5% (2016 est.)
  
  note: Kosovo has a large informal sector that may not be reflected in these data

• Kuwait

  1.1% (2017 est.)
  
  1.1% (2016 est.)

• Kyrgyzstan

  3.18% (2019 est.)
  
  2.59% (2018 est.)

• Laos

  0.7% (2017 est.)
  
  0.7% (2016 est.)

• Latvia

  6.14% (2019 est.)
  
  6.51% (2018 est.)

• Lebanon

  9.7% (2007)

• Lesotho

  28.1% (2014 est.)
  
  25% (2008 est.)

• Liberia

  2.8% (2014 est.)

• Libya

  30% (2004 est.)

• Liechtenstein

  2.4% (2015)
  
  2.4% (2014)

• Lithuania

  8.4% (2019 est.)
  
  8.5% (2018 est.)

• Luxembourg

  5.36% (2019 est.)
  
  5.46% (2018 est.)

• Macau

  2% (2017 est.)
  
  1.9% (2016 est.)

• Madagascar

  1.8% (2017 est.)
  
  1.8% (2016 est.)

• Malawi

  20.4% (2013 est.)

• Malaysia

  3.3% (2019 est.)
  
  3.33% (2018 est.)

• Maldives

  2.9% (2017 est.)
  
  3.2% (2016 est.)

• Mali

  7.9% (2017 est.)
  
  7.8% (2016 est.)

• Malta

  0.78% (2019 est.)
  
  0.89% (2018 est.)

• Marshall Islands

  36% (2006 est.)
  
  30.9% (2000 est.)

• Mauritania

  10.2% (2017 est.)
  
  10.1% (2016 est.)

• Mauritius

  6.65% (2019 est.)
  
  6.84% (2018 est.)

• Mexico

  3.49% (2019 est.)
  
  3.33% (2018 est.)
  
  note: underemployment may be as high as 25%

• Micronesia, Federated States of

  16.2% (2010 est.)

• Moldova

  4.99% (2019 est.)
  
  3.16% (2018 est.)

• Monaco

  2% (2012)

• Mongolia

  8% (2017 est.)
  
  7.9% (2016 est.)

• Montenegro

  15.82% (2019 est.)
  
  18.8% (2018 est.)

• Montserrat

  5.6% (2017 est.)
  
  6% (1998 est.)

• Morocco

  9.23% (2019 est.)
  
  9.65% (2018 est.)

• Mozambique

  24.5% (2017 est.)
  
  25% (2016 est.)

• Namibia

  34% (2016 est.)
  
  28.1% (2014 est.)

• Nauru

  23% (2011 est.)
  
  90% (2004 est.)

• Nepal

  3% (2017 est.)
  
  3.2% (2016 est.)

• Netherlands

  3.41% (2019 est.)
  
  3.84% (2018 est.)

• New Caledonia

  14.7% (2014)
  
  14% (2009)

• New Zealand

  4.13% (2019 est.)
  
  4.32% (2018 est.)

• Nicaragua

  6.4% (2017 est.)
  
  6.2% (2016 est.)
  
  note: underemployment was 46.5% in 2008

• Niger

  0.3% (2017 est.)
  
  0.3% (2016 est.)

• Nigeria

  16.5% (2017 est.)
  
  13.9% (2016 est.)

• Niue

  12% (2001)

• North Macedonia

  17.29% (2019 est.)
  
  20.7% (2018 est.)

• Northern Mariana Islands

  11.2% (2010 est.)
  
  8% (2005 est.)

• Norway

  3.72% (2019 est.)
  
  3.89% (2018 est.)

• Oman

  NA

• Pakistan

  6% (2017 est.)
  
  6% (2016 est.)
  
  note: Pakistan has substantial underemployment

• Palau

  1.7% (2015 est.)
  
  4.1% (2012)

• Panama

  6.14% (2018 est.)
  
  6% (2017 est.)

• Papua New Guinea

  2.5% (2017 est.)
  
  2.5% (2016 est.)

• Paraguay

  5.7% (2017 est.)
  
  6% (2016 est.)

• Peru

  6.58% (2019 est.)
  
  6.73% (2018 est.)
  
  note: data are for metropolitan Lima; widespread underemployment

• Philippines

  5.11% (2019 est.)
  
  5.29% (2018 est.)

• Poland

  5.43% (2019 est.)
  
  6.08% (2018 est.)

• Portugal

  6.55% (2019 est.)
  
  7.05% (2018 est.)

• Puerto Rico

  10.8% (2017 est.)
  
  11.8% (2016 est.)

• Qatar

  8.9% (2017 est.)
  
  11.1% (2016 est.)

• Romania

  3.06% (2019 est.)
  
  3.56% (2018 est.)

• Russia

  4.6% (2019 est.)
  
  4.8% (2018 est.)

• Rwanda

  2.7% (2014 est.)

• Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

  14% (1998 est.)

• Saint Kitts and Nevis

  4.5% (1997)

• Saint Lucia

  20% (2003 est.)

• Saint Pierre and Miquelon

  8.7% (2015 est.)
  
  9.9% (2008 est.)

• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

  18.8% (2008 est.)

• Samoa

  5.2% (2017 est.)
  
  5.5% (2016 est.)
  
  NA

• San Marino

  8.1% (2017 est.)
  
  8.6% (2016 est.)

• Sao Tome and Principe

  12.2% (2017 est.)
  
  12.6% (2016 est.)

• Saudi Arabia

  6% (2017 est.)
  
  5.6% (2016 est.)
  
  note: data are for total population; unemployment among Saudi nationals is more than double

• Senegal

  48% (2007 est.)

• Serbia

  14.1% (2017 est.)
  
  15.9% (2016 est.)

• Seychelles

  3% (2017 est.)
  
  2.7% (2016 est.)

• Sierra Leone

  15% (2017 est.)
  
  17.2% (2016 est.)

• Singapore

  2.25% (2019 est.)
  
  2.1% (2018 est.)

• Sint Maarten

  12% (2012 est.)
  
  10.6% (2008 est.)

• Slovakia

  5% (2019 est.)
  
  5.42% (2018 est.)

• Slovenia

  7.64% (2019 est.)
  
  8.25% (2018 est.)

• Solomon Islands

  NA

• Somalia

  NA

• South Africa

  28.53% (2019 est.)
  
  27.09% (2018 est.)

• Spain

  14.13% (2019 est.)
  
  15.25% (2018 est.)

• Sri Lanka

  4.83% (2019 est.)
  
  4.44% (2018 est.)

• Sudan

  19.6% (2017 est.)
  
  20.6% (2016 est.)

• Suriname

  8.9% (2017 est.)
  
  9.7% (2016 est.)

• Sweden

  6.78% (2019 est.)
  
  6.33% (2018 est.)

• Switzerland

  2.31% (2019 est.)
  
  2.55% (2018 est.)

• Syria

  50% (2017 est.)
  
  50% (2016 est.)

• Taiwan

  3.73% (2019 est.)
  
  3.69% (2018 est.)

• Tajikistan

  2.4% (2016 est.)
  
  2.5% (2015 est.)
  
  note: official rate; actual unemployment is much higher

• Tanzania

  10.3% (2014 est.)

• Thailand

  0.99% (2019 est.)
  
  1.06% (2018 est.)

• Timor-Leste

  4.4% (2014 est.)
  
  3.9% (2010 est.)

• Togo

  6.9% (2016 est.)

• Tokelau

  2% (2015 est.)
  
  note: Underemployment may be as high as 6.6%

• Tonga

  1.1% (2011 est.)
  
  1.1% (2006)

• Trinidad and Tobago

  4.9% (2017 est.)
  
  4% (2016 est.)

• Tunisia

  15.5% (2017 est.)
  
  15.5% (2016 est.)

• Turkey

  13.68% (2019 est.)
  
  11% (2018 est.)

• Turkmenistan

  11% (2014 est.)
  
  10.6% (2013)

• Turks and Caicos Islands

  10% (1997 est.)

• Tuvalu

  NA

• Uganda

  9.4% (2014 est.)

• Ukraine

  8.89% (2019 est.)
  
  9.42% (2018 est.)
  
  note: officially registered workers; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers

• United Arab Emirates

  1.6% (2016 est.)
  
  3.6% (2014 est.)

• United Kingdom

  3.17% (2019 est.)
  
  2.51% (2018 est.)

• United States

  3.89% (2018 est.)
  
  4.4% (2017 est.)

• Uruguay

  7.6% (2017 est.)
  
  7.9% (2016 est.)

• Uzbekistan

  5% (2017 est.)
  
  5.1% (2016 est.)
  
  note: official data; another 20% are underemployed

• Vanuatu

  1.7% (1999 est.)

• Venezuela

  6.9% (2018 est.)
  
  27.1% (2017 est.)

• Vietnam

  3.11% (2018 est.)
  
  2.2% (2017 est.)

• Virgin Islands

  10.4% (2017 est.)
  
  11% (2016 est.)

• Wallis and Futuna

  8.8% (2013 est.)
  
  12.2% (2008 est.)

• West Bank

  27.9% (2017 est.)
  
  27% (2016 est.)
  
  note: excludes Gaza Strip

• World

  7.7% (2017 est.)
  
  7.5% (2016 est.)
  
  note: combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2007 est.)

• Yemen

  27% (2014 est.)
  
  35% (2003 est.)

• Zambia

  15% (2008 est.)
  
  50% (2000 est.)

• Zimbabwe

  11.3% (2014 est.)
  
  80% (2005 est.)
  
  note: data include both unemployment and underemployment; true unemployment is unknown and, under current economic conditions, unknowable