World rankings / DATA EXPLORER

THE GLOBAL INDEX #034

Unemployment2020

ILO modeled estimate of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force.

World Bank
Comparable ranking year2025Latest published year: 2025
Economies with data187 / 217No observation: 30
First-ranked country or territoryEswatini32.98 %

Top 10

% · 2020

Complete ranking

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Unemployment · 2020 · %
RankCountry / territoryValue (%)Year
01Eswatini32.982020
02South Africa29.222020
03Djibouti27.72020
04Palestinian Territories25.92020
05St. Lucia25.222020
06Congo - Brazzaville22.292020
07Gabon21.282020
08Botswana21.022020
09Namibia212020
10St. Vincent & Grenadines20.642020
11Libya19.652020
12Somalia19.412020
13Jordan19.212020
14Lesotho18.382020
15Armenia18.182020
16Yemen17.962020
17Montenegro17.882020
18Tunisia17.652020
19Angola16.72020
20North Macedonia16.582020
21Costa Rica16.432020
22Colombia15.982020
23Greece15.92020
24Bosnia & Herzegovina15.872020
25Iraq15.772020
26Haiti15.572020
27Spain15.532020
28Guyana15.312020
29Syria15.182020
30Panama14.662020
31Cape Verde14.652020
32U.S. Virgin Islands14.372020
33South Sudan14.252020
34Algeria14.082020
35Brazil13.72020
36New Caledonia13.562020
37Lebanon13.252020
38Türkiye13.152020
39Nepal13.042020
40French Polynesia12.962020
41Bahamas12.022020
42Sudan122020
43Rwanda11.832020
44Georgia11.732020
45Afghanistan11.712020
46Albania11.642020
47Argentina11.462020
48Morocco11.192020
49Mauritania11.052020
50Honduras10.982020
51Chile10.932020
52Belize10.762020
53Barbados10.592020
54Uruguay10.412020
55Iran9.692020
56São Tomé & Príncipe9.682020
57Canada9.662020
58Ukraine9.482020
59Italy9.192020
60Serbia9.012020
61Suriname8.972020
62Puerto Rico8.892020
63Mauritius8.632020
64Equatorial Guinea8.622020
65Zimbabwe8.622020
66Lithuania8.492020
67Sweden8.292020
68Latvia8.12020
69United States8.062020
70France8.012020
71Egypt7.972020
72Bolivia7.92020
73India7.862020
74Finland7.762020
75Cyprus7.762020
76Saudi Arabia7.662020
77Tajikistan7.582020
78Paraguay7.552020
79Venezuela7.532020
80Samoa7.472020
81Brunei7.412020
82Croatia7.392020
83Azerbaijan7.242020
84Peru7.182020
85Estonia6.962020
86Portugal6.852020
87Luxembourg6.772020
88Slovakia6.722020
89Channel Islands6.632020
90Central African Republic6.522020
91Jamaica6.52020
92Mongolia6.412020
93Australia6.392020
94Eritrea6.382020
95Guam6.242020
96Nicaragua6.182020
97Dominican Republic6.132020
98Ecuador6.122020
99Zambia6.032020
100Guinea6.012020
101Pakistan5.992020
102Kyrgyzstan5.942020
103Gambia5.842020
104Hong Kong SAR China5.812020
105Malawi5.722020
106Nigeria5.712020
107Denmark5.642020
108Ireland5.622020
109Russia5.622020
110Kenya5.612020
111Belgium5.542020
112Bangladesh5.542020
113Iceland5.482020
114Maldives5.422020
115Sri Lanka5.362020
116Congo - Kinshasa5.362020
117Uzbekistan5.292020
118Austria5.22020
119Fiji5.052020
120Bulgaria5.042020
121Romania5.042020
122Bhutan5.032020
123Mozambique5.022020
124El Salvador5.012020
125China52020
126Slovenia4.972020
127Kazakhstan4.892020
128Malta4.862020
129Switzerland4.822020
130New Zealand4.62020
131Burkina Faso4.592020
132Malaysia4.542020
133Turkmenistan4.492020
134United Kingdom4.472020
135Comoros4.472020
136Mexico4.442020
137Norway4.422020
138United Arab Emirates4.292020
139Indonesia4.262020
140Hungary4.252020
141Trinidad & Tobago4.212020
142Israel4.172020
143Liberia4.12020
144Singapore4.12020
145Belarus4.052020
146Vanuatu4.052020
147Ethiopia42020
148South Korea3.932020
149Cameroon3.882020
149Germany3.882020
151Netherlands3.822020
152Uganda3.822020
153North Korea3.622020
154Mali3.532020
155Sierra Leone3.512020
156Kuwait3.492020
157Senegal3.432020
158Madagascar3.292020
159Ghana3.182020
160Poland3.162020
161Guatemala2.962020
162Oman2.942020
163Papua New Guinea2.92020
164Guinea-Bissau2.892020
165Japan2.812020
166Timor-Leste2.812020
167Tonga2.712020
168Côte d’Ivoire2.592020
169Czechia2.552020
170Macao SAR China2.542020
171Philippines2.522020
172Laos2.352020
173Cuba2.232020
174Togo2.232020
175Vietnam2.12020
176Tanzania1.792020
177Bahrain1.762020
178Chad1.72020
179Benin1.522020
180Myanmar (Burma)1.482020
181Moldova1.212020
182Thailand1.12020
183Burundi1.032020
184Solomon Islands0.872020
185Niger0.592020
186Cambodia0.172020
187Qatar0.142020

How this ranking works

For annual statistics, the default is the newest year covering at least 70% of the maximum available country coverage, and at least 20 economies where possible. A ranking uses one year or report edition; missing observations are not replaced with another year. Newer years with lower coverage can be selected.

Intentional homicide rates and peace scores rank from lowest to highest; other indicators rank from highest to lowest. Ranks use original values and competition ranking for ties, for example 1, 2, 2, 4. Filtering or changing display order does not recalculate global ranks. Higher values are not necessarily better.

Statistics reflect the public source snapshot, not live measurements. Some series are modeled estimates or multi-year averages. See original metadata.

No observation (30)

American Samoa · Andorra · Antigua & Barbuda · Aruba · Bermuda · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Curaçao · Dominica · Faroe Islands · Gibraltar · Greenland · Grenada · Isle of Man · Kiribati · Kosovo · Liechtenstein · Marshall Islands · Micronesia · Monaco · Nauru · Northern Mariana Islands · Palau · San Marino · Seychelles · Sint Maarten · St. Kitts & Nevis · St. Martin · Turks & Caicos Islands · Tuvalu

Source & definition

Indicator definition
ILO modeled estimate of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force.
Unit
%
Source & definition
World Bank · SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS
Open original source ↗
Original metadata
Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

{
  "id": "SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS",
  "name": "Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate)",
  "unit": "",
  "source": {
    "id": "2",
    "value": "World Development Indicators"
  },
  "sourceNote": "Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.",
  "sourceOrganization": "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",
  "topics": [
    {
      "id": "4",
      "value": "Education "
    },
    {
      "id": "10",
      "value": "Social Protection & Labor"
    }
  ]
}