France vs Spain: Unemployment rate
Unemployment rate over time
- France
- Spain
How they compare
Spain currently reports 15.31 against 10.82 in France, a difference of 4.49.
That makes Spain's figure about 1.4 times France's.
Across all 22 years both countries report, Spain has been ahead every year.
France ranks 7th and Spain ranks 4th of 58 countries.
Spain has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10.23 | 13.36 | 3.13 | Spain |
| 2010s | 10.68 | 22.1 | 11.42 | Spain |
| 2020s | 10.69 | 17.07 | 6.38 | Spain |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher unemployment rate, France or Spain?
- Spain, at 15.31 against 10.82 in France as of 2025.
- What is the difference in unemployment rate between France and Spain?
- 4.49, with Spain ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and Spain?
- 22 years are reported by both, from 2004 to 2025.
- How do France and Spain rank globally for unemployment rate?
- France ranks 7th and Spain ranks 4th of 58 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Labour Organization, published as Unemployment rate (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. The unemployment rate conveys the number of persons who are unemployed as a percent of the labour force (i.e., the employed plus the unemployed). The unemployed comprise all persons of working age who were: a) without work during the reference period, i.e. were not in paid employment or self-employment; b) currently available for work, i.e. were available for paid employment or self-employment during the reference period; and c) seeking work, i.e. had taken specific steps in a specified recent period to seek paid employment or self-employment. The term disability, as defined in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), is used as an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. For measurement purposes, a person with disability is defined as a person who is limited in the kind or amount of activities that he or she can do because of ongoing difficulties due to a long-term physical condition, mental condition or health problem. For more information, refer to the Disability Labour Market Indicators (DLMI) database description.