Country rankings · Economy & living

Which countries have the highest unemployment rates?

Eswatini (34.64 % of labour force), South Africa (32.28 % of labour force), and Djibouti (26.01 % of labour force) lead this 2024 comparison among countries with existing GooferPlaces guides.

2024 observations · Retrieved 2026-10-18 · 174 of 197 guide countries · 98.1% of World Bank world population in 2024 represented.

Full country ranking

Value: % of labour force. The table is shown in its published rank order. Rank always refers to the published highest-first order; exact source ties share a rank.

Which countries have the highest unemployment rates? — 2024 observations
RankCountry% of labour forceYear
1Eswatini34.642024
2South Africa32.282024
3Djibouti26.012024
4Botswana23.812024
5Gabon20.092024
6Congo - Brazzaville19.902024
7Namibia19.162024
8Libya19.092024
9Somalia18.952024
10St. Vincent & Grenadines18.092024
11Yemen16.972024
12Jordan16.692024
13Lesotho16.342024
14Tunisia15.342024
15Iraq15.292024
16Haiti14.612024
17Angola14.022024
18Afghanistan13.692024
19Syria13.362024
20Montenegro13.212024
21Armenia12.412024
22North Macedonia12.272024
23Cape Verde11.882024
24Guyana11.872024
25Algeria11.662024
26Georgia11.562024
27Spain11.402024
28Rwanda11.332024
29Bosnia & Herzegovina10.692024
30Albania10.692024
31Nepal10.502024
32Mauritania10.262024
33St. Lucia10.202024
34Greece10.022024
35Colombia9.622024
36Zimbabwe9.442024
37Morocco9.102024
38São Tomé & Príncipe9.062024
39Bahamas9.052024
40Türkiye8.802024
41Chile8.722024
42Belize8.702024
43Panama8.452024
44Finland8.402024
44Sweden8.402024
46Equatorial Guinea8.292024
47Uruguay8.212024
48Iran8.152024
49Suriname7.622024
50Estonia7.602024
51France7.402024
52Serbia7.242024
53Argentina7.152024
54Tajikistan7.042024
55Costa Rica6.942024
56Latvia6.902024
57Lithuania6.852024
58Egypt6.822024
59Brazil6.802024
60Mozambique6.672024
61Italy6.502024
61Portugal6.502024
63Gambia6.482024
64Barbados6.452024
65Luxembourg6.402024
66Canada6.352024
67Central African Republic6.252024
68Eritrea5.952024
69Zambia5.902024
70Belgium5.702024
71Paraguay5.692024
72Azerbaijan5.652024
73Mauritius5.552024
74Pakistan5.492024
75Kenya5.492024
76Romania5.402024
77Fiji5.362024
78Denmark5.362024
79Venezuela5.322024
80Dominican Republic5.312024
81Slovakia5.302024
82Austria5.202024
83Peru5.202024
84Brunei5.182024
85Mongolia5.162024
86Guinea5.132024
87Malawi5.052024
88Croatia5.002024
89Vanuatu4.992024
90Nicaragua4.982024
91Honduras4.912024
92Cyprus4.902024
93Samoa4.862024
94Kazakhstan4.832024
95New Zealand4.722024
96China4.592024
97Hungary4.502024
98Uzbekistan4.442024
99Congo - Kinshasa4.422024
100United Kingdom4.362024
101Switzerland4.342024
102Ireland4.302024
103Maldives4.282024
104Sri Lanka4.242024
105Bulgaria4.202024
106India4.172024
107United States4.022024
108Turkmenistan4.022024
109Norway4.002024
110Australia3.942024
111Malaysia3.852024
112Comoros3.822024
113Netherlands3.702024
113Slovenia3.702024
115Bangladesh3.642024
116Cameroon3.602024
117Iceland3.602024
118Israel3.602024
119North Korea3.542024
120Saudi Arabia3.522024
121Kyrgyzstan3.492024
122Belarus3.462024
123Ecuador3.452024
124Burkina Faso3.442024
125Germany3.402024
126Ethiopia3.362024
127Trinidad & Tobago3.322024
128Indonesia3.302024
129Bhutan3.282024
130Bolivia3.272024
131El Salvador3.262024
132Oman3.202024
133Jamaica3.152024
134Sierra Leone3.102024
135Malta3.102024
136Madagascar3.052024
137Nigeria3.052024
138Mali2.922024
139Liberia2.912024
140Myanmar (Burma)2.892024
141Ghana2.822024
142Poland2.812024
143Senegal2.792024
144South Korea2.782024
145Uganda2.742024
146Singapore2.742024
147Mexico2.682024
148Guinea-Bissau2.652024
149Papua New Guinea2.632024
150Guatemala2.612024
151Czechia2.602024
152Japan2.502024
153Russia2.432024
154Côte d’Ivoire2.272024
155Philippines2.202024
156United Arab Emirates2.162024
157Kuwait2.152024
158Tonga1.972024
159Togo1.952024
160Cuba1.762024
161Benin1.642024
162Vietnam1.602024
163Tanzania1.562024
164Timor-Leste1.522024
165Solomon Islands1.442024
166Moldova1.432024
167Laos1.172024
168Bahrain1.082024
169Chad1.052024
170Burundi0.922024
171Thailand0.782024
172Niger0.382024
173Cambodia0.252024
174Qatar0.132024

What the data means

34 covered countries have unemployment of at least 10% of the labour force. The denominator excludes people outside the labour force. The modelled ILO series improves comparability, but national averages do not measure work-permit access or demand for a particular occupation.

Methodology, source and licence

One common observation year (2024) across all entries. Starting at 2024, choose the newest common year with at least 10 existing country guides and at least 70% of world population represented. Regional aggregates and places without an existing country guide or same-year population are excluded; missing observations are never estimated. Rates, percentages and values already expressed per person are not divided by population again. Exact source ties share a rank; country names break ties in display order. The 2026 label is the publication edition, not the observation year.

Source definition: Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

Original providers: 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

Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators — SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-18. GooferPlaces selected eligible countries, sorted observations, rounded display values and, where stated, calculated population-normalised values. The source organisations do not endorse these rankings.

Download the observations and methodology (JSON). The dated source snapshot is retained as data/rankings/world-bank-wdi/2026-10-18.json. The country universe comprises the 197 existing country guides; territories without a guide and regional aggregates are excluded. Population coverage uses the World Bank world aggregate for the observation year, including places not listed in the table.

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