LU3: Combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force (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
LU3: Combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) (15+) is currently reported for 89 countries. The highest value is 41.8 in South Africa; the lowest is 0.834 in Thailand.
The median across all reporting countries is 8.71, and the mean is 10.57.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 50.
Over the past decade 22 countries rose and 64 fell. The largest increase was in Guatemala (up 494.8%), and the largest decrease in Croatia (down 71.0%).
LU3: Combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | 41.8 | 2024 | up 19.1% | falling |
| 2 | Malawi | 38.8 | 2024 | up 354.5% | volatile |
| 3 | Senegal | 33.58 | 2024 | up 7.7% | rising |
| 4 | Kosovo | 31.3 | 2024 | down 42.2% | falling |
| 5 | Palestine | 30.38 | 2025 | down 0.8% | rising |
| 6 | Angola | 26.84 | 2025 | up 8.4% | rising |
| 7 | Zimbabwe | 21.95 | 2024 | up 92.3% | rising |
| 8 | Armenia | 21.39 | 2018 | down 8.8% | rising |
| 9 | Burkina Faso | 21.36 | 2025 | up 51.2% | rising |
| 10 | Jordan | 20.11 | 2024 | down 16.9% | falling |
| 11 | Georgia | 17.44 | 2025 | up 4.8% | falling |
| 12 | Chile | 16.57 | 2025 | up 15.7% | rising |
| 13 | Guatemala | 16.32 | 2025 | up 494.8% | volatile |
| 14 | Zambia | 16.19 | 2024 | up 3.1% | flat |
| 15 | Turkey | 16.07 | 2013 | up 37.4% | rising |
| 16 | North Macedonia | 16.04 | 2025 | down 46.5% | falling |
| 17 | Guyana | 16.04 | 2024 | down 35.5% | falling |
| 18 | Montenegro | 15.57 | 2024 | down 41.3% | falling |
| 19 | Rwanda | 13.65 | 2025 | up 491.5% | rising |
| 20 | Sweden | 13.62 | 2024 | up 20.1% | rising |
| 21 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 13.59 | 2025 | down 62.7% | falling |
| 22 | Spain | 13.54 | 2025 | down 47.0% | rising |
| 23 | Italy | 13.46 | 2024 | down 41.3% | rising |
| 24 | Finland | 12.87 | 2024 | down 10.0% | falling |
| 25 | Saudi Arabia | 11.61 | 2024 | up 35.4% | rising |
| 26 | Luxembourg | 11.47 | 2024 | down 1.3% | rising |
| 27 | Estonia | 11.3 | 2024 | down 4.6% | falling |
| 28 | Greece | 10.82 | 2025 | down 60.2% | rising |
| 29 | France | 10.76 | 2024 | down 18.4% | flat |
| 30 | Honduras | 10.51 | 2025 | down 23.5% | falling |
| 31 | Brazil | 10.33 | 2025 | down 17.7% | rising |
| 32 | Serbia | 10.23 | 2025 | down 61.8% | falling |
| 33 | Albania | 10.2 | 2024 | down 67.8% | falling |
| 34 | Uruguay | 9.72 | 2025 | down 16.6% | falling |
| 35 | Belize | 9.4 | 2017 | — | falling |
| 36 | Latvia | 9.21 | 2024 | down 40.3% | falling |
| 37 | Panama | 9.19 | 2025 | up 85.0% | rising |
| 38 | Saint Lucia | 9.16 | 2025 | down 56.6% | falling |
| 39 | Colombia | 9.1 | 2025 | down 3.8% | falling |
| 40 | Dominican Republic | 9.08 | 2025 | down 39.0% | falling |
| 41 | Lithuania | 8.89 | 2024 | down 24.7% | falling |
| 42 | Denmark | 8.84 | 2024 | down 6.9% | rising |
| 43 | Ireland | 8.8 | 2024 | down 33.6% | rising |
| 44 | Costa Rica | 8.73 | 2025 | down 38.9% | falling |
| 45 | Switzerland | 8.71 | 2025 | — | rising |
| 46 | Austria | 8.35 | 2025 | down 15.4% | rising |
| 47 | Portugal | 7.94 | 2025 | down 52.7% | rising |
| 48 | Romania | 7.84 | 2024 | down 25.2% | falling |
| 49 | Indonesia | 7.74 | 2023 | down 25.9% | falling |
| 50 | Canada | 7.48 | 2025 | down 1.7% | falling |
| 51 | Brunei | 7.43 | 2024 | down 38.2% | falling |
| 52 | Mongolia | 7.39 | 2025 | down 39.6% | falling |
| 53 | Belgium | 7.37 | 2024 | down 31.4% | falling |
| 54 | United Kingdom | 7.35 | 2025 | down 12.0% | falling |
| 55 | Norway | 7.08 | 2024 | up 22.3% | rising |
| 56 | Croatia | 7.06 | 2024 | down 71.0% | falling |
| 57 | Slovakia | 6.87 | 2023 | down 57.6% | falling |
| 58 | Barbados | 6.79 | 2024 | down 39.8% | falling |
| 59 | Iceland | 6.68 | 2023 | down 30.8% | rising |
| 60 | Mauritius | 6.56 | 2024 | down 29.9% | falling |
| 61 | Mali | 6.45 | 2024 | down 20.5% | falling |
| 62 | Cyprus | 6.12 | 2024 | down 69.4% | rising |
| 63 | Netherlands | 6.08 | 2024 | down 50.6% | flat |
| 64 | Bulgaria | 5.96 | 2024 | down 66.4% | falling |
| 65 | Germany | 5.87 | 2024 | down 15.5% | falling |
| 66 | Hungary | 5.72 | 2024 | down 49.7% | falling |
| 67 | Sri Lanka | 5.68 | 2024 | up 29.6% | rising |
| 68 | Bangladesh | 5.46 | 2024 | up 3.4% | falling |
| 69 | United States | 5.24 | 2025 | down 18.0% | falling |
| 70 | Singapore | 5.21 | 2025 | — | falling |
| 71 | Slovenia | 5.13 | 2024 | down 60.0% | falling |
| 72 | Philippines | 4.85 | 2023 | down 17.6% | falling |
| 73 | Cote d'Ivoire | 4.84 | 2022 | down 56.4% | falling |
| 74 | South Korea | 4.84 | 2019 | up 31.4% | rising |
| 75 | Cambodia | 4.65 | 2025 | up 54.6% | falling |
| 76 | Seychelles | 4.56 | 2025 | down 27.4% | falling |
| 77 | Belarus | 4.38 | 2024 | down 47.4% | falling |
| 78 | Poland | 4.06 | 2024 | down 67.7% | falling |
| 79 | El Salvador | 4 | 2025 | down 41.5% | falling |
| 80 | Bolivia | 3.99 | 2025 | down 27.4% | falling |
| 81 | Malta | 3.91 | 2024 | down 44.5% | falling |
| 82 | East Timor | 3.63 | 2022 | down 31.2% | volatile |
| 83 | Russia | 3.22 | 2025 | down 57.4% | falling |
| 84 | Czechia | 3.19 | 2024 | down 56.4% | falling |
| 85 | United Arab Emirates | 2.47 | 2025 | down 42.4% | falling |
| 86 | Moldova | 2.1 | 2025 | up 0.5% | volatile |
| 87 | Myanmar | 2.04 | 2020 | up 19.8% | falling |
| 88 | Vietnam | 1.6 | 2024 | down 18.8% | volatile |
| 89 | Thailand | 0.834 | 2025 | down 7.8% | rising |
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. LU3 represents the share of the extended labour force that are in unemployment or the potential labour force. 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.