LU2: Combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) 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
LU2: Combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) is currently reported for 48 countries. The highest value is 29.35 in Botswana; the lowest is 0.459 in Iceland.
The median across all reporting countries is 8.11, and the mean is 9.79.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 64.
Over the past decade 10 countries rose and 37 fell. The largest increase was in Ghana (up 332.0%), and the largest decrease in Iceland (down 94.7%).
LU2: Combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Botswana | 29.35 | 2024 | up 13.0% | rising |
| 2 | Palestine | 25.88 | 2022 | — | flat |
| 3 | Serbia | 25.7 | 2023 | down 21.9% | falling |
| 4 | Rwanda | 23.22 | 2025 | down 37.5% | falling |
| 5 | Spain | 19.68 | 2023 | down 41.9% | rising |
| 6 | Greece | 17.61 | 2023 | down 49.1% | rising |
| 7 | Zimbabwe | 16.64 | 2024 | up 246.6% | rising |
| 8 | Costa Rica | 15.67 | 2025 | down 24.0% | falling |
| 9 | France | 13.34 | 2023 | down 7.9% | rising |
| 10 | Italy | 12.6 | 2023 | down 32.8% | rising |
| 11 | Croatia | 12.21 | 2023 | down 59.6% | falling |
| 12 | Portugal | 11.64 | 2023 | down 55.1% | rising |
| 13 | Bulgaria | 11.56 | 2023 | down 46.5% | falling |
| 14 | Ireland | 11.29 | 2020 | down 56.0% | rising |
| 15 | Lithuania | 10.7 | 2023 | down 26.0% | falling |
| 16 | Peru | 10.06 | 2025 | up 44.9% | rising |
| 17 | Ghana | 9.95 | 2024 | up 332.0% | rising |
| 18 | United Kingdom | 9.72 | 2025 | down 16.4% | falling |
| 19 | Finland | 9.02 | 2023 | down 23.5% | rising |
| 20 | Latvia | 8.97 | 2023 | down 48.5% | falling |
| 21 | Zambia | 8.55 | 2024 | down 1.7% | flat |
| 22 | Slovenia | 8.43 | 2023 | down 55.9% | falling |
| 23 | Indonesia | 8.4 | 2023 | up 5.8% | rising |
| 24 | Cyprus | 8.17 | 2023 | down 69.4% | volatile |
| 25 | Slovakia | 8.05 | 2023 | down 48.2% | falling |
| 26 | Belgium | 8.03 | 2023 | down 45.0% | falling |
| 27 | Austria | 7.75 | 2023 | down 24.7% | rising |
| 28 | Estonia | 7.11 | 2023 | down 38.6% | falling |
| 29 | Germany | 7.08 | 2020 | down 44.0% | falling |
| 30 | Senegal | 6.86 | 2024 | up 23.4% | rising |
| 31 | Sweden | 6.82 | 2023 | down 31.9% | falling |
| 32 | Denmark | 6.57 | 2023 | down 32.1% | rising |
| 33 | Hungary | 6.47 | 2023 | down 60.2% | falling |
| 34 | Sri Lanka | 6.26 | 2024 | down 6.7% | flat |
| 35 | Bolivia | 6.01 | 2019 | up 10.0% | flat |
| 36 | Switzerland | 5.74 | 2023 | up 14.6% | rising |
| 37 | Mongolia | 5.51 | 2025 | up 0.1% | rising |
| 38 | Poland | 5.29 | 2023 | down 65.4% | falling |
| 39 | Luxembourg | 5.26 | 2023 | down 41.8% | rising |
| 40 | Cambodia | 5.07 | 2025 | up 310.1% | volatile |
| 41 | Czechia | 5.04 | 2023 | down 53.9% | falling |
| 42 | United States | 5.04 | 2025 | down 17.0% | falling |
| 43 | Netherlands | 4.62 | 2023 | down 44.4% | rising |
| 44 | Seychelles | 4.53 | 2025 | down 3.1% | falling |
| 45 | Norway | 4.4 | 2023 | down 1.3% | falling |
| 46 | Moldova | 2.06 | 2025 | down 30.3% | falling |
| 47 | Romania | 1.38 | 2023 | down 75.4% | falling |
| 48 | Iceland | 0.459 | 2020 | down 94.7% | 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. LU2 represents the share of the labour force that are either in unemployment or time-related underemployment. 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.