Discouraged jobseekers (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) (15+) by country
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...
What the numbers show
Discouraged jobseekers (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) (15+) is currently reported for 89 countries. The highest value is 3,274 in South Africa; the lowest is 0.183 in Malta.
The median across all reporting countries is 29.06, and the mean is 228.25.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 17,893.
Over the past decade 33 countries rose and 55 fell. The largest increase was in Rwanda (up 2,613.0%), and the largest decrease in Peru (down 93.0%).
Discouraged jobseekers (previous ILO definition - ICLS13): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | 3,274 | 2024 | up 34.6% | rising |
| 2 | Brazil | 2,765 | 2025 | up 47.9% | rising |
| 3 | Turkey | 2,647 | 2025 | up 281.3% | volatile |
| 4 | Angola | 1,910 | 2025 | up 701.6% | rising |
| 5 | Senegal | 1,243 | 2024 | up 151.4% | rising |
| 6 | Ghana | 1,144 | 2024 | up 814.4% | volatile |
| 7 | South Korea | 910.12 | 2025 | down 36.2% | volatile |
| 8 | Egypt | 904.4 | 2024 | up 665.2% | volatile |
| 9 | Zimbabwe | 465.18 | 2024 | up 137.8% | rising |
| 10 | Zambia | 435.87 | 2024 | up 64.2% | rising |
| 11 | Rwanda | 371.27 | 2025 | up 2,613.0% | rising |
| 12 | Tanzania | 371.03 | 2024 | up 170.9% | volatile |
| 13 | Indonesia | 319.52 | 2023 | down 76.5% | volatile |
| 14 | Philippines | 249.03 | 2023 | down 12.2% | rising |
| 15 | United States | 240.34 | 2025 | down 24.1% | rising |
| 16 | Guatemala | 213.66 | 2024 | up 1,199.3% | volatile |
| 17 | Germany | 202.77 | 2024 | up 225.8% | volatile |
| 18 | Bangladesh | 185.04 | 2024 | up 35.2% | volatile |
| 19 | Romania | 150.06 | 2024 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 20 | France | 140.28 | 2024 | down 27.7% | volatile |
| 21 | Spain | 131.42 | 2025 | down 65.5% | volatile |
| 22 | Namibia | 126.47 | 2018 | up 14.2% | rising |
| 23 | Italy | 125.94 | 2024 | down 92.2% | volatile |
| 24 | Colombia | 113.82 | 2025 | down 37.3% | falling |
| 25 | Dominican Republic | 112.99 | 2025 | down 34.5% | falling |
| 26 | Honduras | 106.56 | 2025 | down 41.3% | volatile |
| 27 | Armenia | 103.1 | 2018 | down 40.1% | falling |
| 28 | Cote d'Ivoire | 99.83 | 2022 | down 89.2% | volatile |
| 29 | Chile | 90 | 2025 | up 19.9% | flat |
| 30 | Kosovo | 80.17 | 2024 | down 15.0% | flat |
| 31 | Russia | 78.38 | 2025 | down 60.6% | falling |
| 32 | Mali | 77.13 | 2024 | up 17.8% | volatile |
| 33 | Jordan | 70.43 | 2024 | down 11.9% | rising |
| 34 | Botswana | 48.61 | 2024 | up 6.4% | falling |
| 35 | Sri Lanka | 45.44 | 2024 | down 28.4% | falling |
| 36 | Serbia | 44.22 | 2025 | down 65.4% | falling |
| 37 | Ecuador | 42.28 | 2012 | down 56.5% | flat |
| 38 | Poland | 41.23 | 2025 | down 84.2% | volatile |
| 39 | Israel | 40.17 | 2024 | up 12.4% | falling |
| 40 | Georgia | 39.91 | 2025 | down 52.2% | falling |
| 41 | Myanmar | 35.92 | 2020 | up 1.1% | falling |
| 42 | Canada | 33.5 | 2025 | up 21.1% | volatile |
| 43 | Hungary | 31.63 | 2024 | down 64.9% | falling |
| 44 | Greece | 29.12 | 2025 | down 44.9% | volatile |
| 45 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 29.06 | 2025 | down 56.9% | volatile |
| 46 | Portugal | 28.01 | 2025 | down 72.2% | volatile |
| 47 | Austria | 27.57 | 2025 | down 13.3% | rising |
| 48 | Bulgaria | 20.79 | 2024 | down 89.7% | volatile |
| 49 | United Kingdom | 20.36 | 2025 | down 22.8% | volatile |
| 50 | North Macedonia | 18.67 | 2025 | down 6.1% | rising |
| 51 | El Salvador | 18.29 | 2025 | down 59.2% | falling |
| 52 | Switzerland | 17.85 | 2025 | up 40.0% | rising |
| 53 | Albania | 17.53 | 2024 | down 89.3% | volatile |
| 54 | Finland | 17.49 | 2024 | down 59.0% | falling |
| 55 | Ireland | 16.06 | 2024 | up 2.0% | rising |
| 56 | Palestine | 15.24 | 2025 | down 66.6% | volatile |
| 57 | Sweden | 14.7 | 2024 | down 37.6% | falling |
| 58 | Netherlands | 12.84 | 2024 | down 85.9% | falling |
| 59 | Uruguay | 12.52 | 2025 | up 112.2% | rising |
| 60 | Estonia | 10.91 | 2024 | up 82.9% | volatile |
| 61 | Peru | 9.64 | 2025 | down 93.0% | volatile |
| 62 | Belgium | 9.56 | 2024 | down 60.4% | falling |
| 63 | Croatia | 9.44 | 2024 | down 69.1% | falling |
| 64 | Mongolia | 9.23 | 2025 | down 9.5% | volatile |
| 65 | Norway | 8.89 | 2024 | up 130.3% | falling |
| 66 | Denmark | 8.41 | 2024 | up 405.3% | volatile |
| 67 | Slovakia | 8.05 | 2023 | up 0.5% | rising |
| 68 | Costa Rica | 6.87 | 2025 | down 81.8% | falling |
| 69 | Belarus | 6.7 | 2024 | down 82.9% | falling |
| 70 | Panama | 6.56 | 2025 | up 164.7% | rising |
| 71 | Latvia | 6.39 | 2024 | down 65.5% | volatile |
| 72 | Vietnam | 5.07 | 2024 | down 84.3% | volatile |
| 73 | Guyana | 4.86 | 2024 | down 44.4% | falling |
| 74 | Bolivia | 3.34 | 2025 | down 53.9% | volatile |
| 75 | Slovenia | 3.06 | 2024 | down 81.6% | volatile |
| 76 | Jamaica | 2.72 | 2023 | down 84.7% | falling |
| 77 | Montenegro | 2.44 | 2024 | down 66.0% | falling |
| 78 | Lithuania | 2.41 | 2024 | up 5.2% | volatile |
| 79 | Mauritius | 2.14 | 2024 | up 40.2% | volatile |
| 80 | Singapore | 1.9 | 2025 | — | falling |
| 81 | Moldova | 1.86 | 2025 | down 43.6% | volatile |
| 82 | Brunei | 1.28 | 2024 | down 51.1% | falling |
| 83 | Cyprus | 1.23 | 2024 | down 79.2% | volatile |
| 84 | Luxembourg | 1.18 | 2024 | up 94.4% | volatile |
| 85 | Czechia | 0.95 | 2020 | down 72.5% | volatile |
| 86 | Saint Lucia | 0.567 | 2025 | down 47.1% | falling |
| 87 | Barbados | 0.282 | 2024 | down 64.1% | falling |
| 87 | Iceland | 0.282 | 2023 | up 8.9% | volatile |
| 89 | Malta | 0.183 | 2018 | down 4.2% | volatile |
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. Discouraged job-seekers refer to those persons of working age who during a specified reference period were without work and available for work, but did not look for work in the recent past for specific reasons (for example, believing that there were no jobs available, believing there were none for which they would qualify, or having given up hope of finding employment). Data disaggregated by level of education are provided on the highest level of education completed, classified according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). Data may have been regrouped from national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISCED. For more information, refer to the Education and Mismatch Indicators (EMI) database description.