Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) was 30.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Zimbabwe, 2005–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Zimbabwe stood at 30.1%.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 60.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Zimbabwe peaked at 32.2% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 16.6%, in 2014.
That places Zimbabwe 30th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 19.8% | — |
| 2006 | 19.5% | -1.6% |
| 2007 | 19.2% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 19.0% | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 18.4% | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 17.8% | -3.2% |
| 2011 | 17.3% | -3.2% |
| 2012 | 17.0% | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 16.8% | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 16.6% | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 18.7% | +13.2% |
| 2016 | 21.4% | +14.3% |
| 2017 | 23.9% | +11.5% |
| 2018 | 26.6% | +11.3% |
| 2019 | 29.4% | +10.5% |
| 2020 | 30.4% | +3.4% |
| 2021 | 30.4% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 32.2% | +5.9% |
| 2023 | 30.0% | -7.0% |
| 2024 | 30.0% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 30.1% | +0.2% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 30.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24.5%, 1.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 30.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 27.2%, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 19.2% | 18.4% | 19.8% | 5 |
| 2010s | 20.5% | 16.6% | 29.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.5% | 30.0% | 32.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More work & labour data for Zimbabwe
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.1887 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.1727 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.2032 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate 0.0937 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 2.81 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 13,627 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 16,032 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 19,130 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 18,036 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 37,167 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Zimbabwe?
- Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Zimbabwe was 30.1% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 32.2% in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.6% in 2014.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of)?
- Zimbabwe ranks 30th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 60.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The share of youth not in education, employment or training (also known as “the NEET rate”) conveys the number of young persons not in education, employment or training as a percentage of the total youth population. Youth not in education are those who were neither enrolled in school nor in a formal training program (e.g. vocational training). For the purposes of this indicator, youth is defined as all persons between the ages of 15 and 24 (inclusive).