Unemployment rate (current ILO definition - ICLS19) 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 includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. The unemployment rate conveys...
What the numbers show
Unemployment rate (current ILO definition - ICLS19) is currently reported for 41 countries. The highest value is 28 in Botswana; the lowest is 0.61 in Romania.
The median across all reporting countries is 6.38, and the mean is 8.09.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 46.
Over the past decade 9 countries rose and 32 fell. The largest increase was in Cambodia (up 196.6%), and the largest decrease in Romania (down 86.2%).
Unemployment rate: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Botswana | 28 | 2024 | up 24.9% | rising |
| 2 | Zimbabwe | 24.46 | 2024 | up 45.1% | rising |
| 3 | Spain | 15.31 | 2025 | down 39.8% | falling |
| 4 | Armenia | 13.4 | 2024 | down 29.4% | falling |
| 5 | Zambia | 12.89 | 2024 | up 18.7% | rising |
| 6 | Rwanda | 12.42 | 2025 | down 28.5% | falling |
| 7 | Greece | 11.41 | 2025 | down 58.6% | falling |
| 8 | France | 10.82 | 2025 | down 8.5% | flat |
| 9 | Lithuania | 10.69 | 2025 | down 4.5% | falling |
| 10 | Finland | 10.66 | 2025 | down 19.4% | falling |
| 11 | Portugal | 9.56 | 2025 | down 48.5% | falling |
| 12 | Croatia | 9.04 | 2025 | down 65.2% | falling |
| 13 | Bulgaria | 8.96 | 2025 | down 52.1% | falling |
| 14 | Sweden | 8.77 | 2025 | up 24.0% | rising |
| 15 | Italy | 8.32 | 2025 | down 50.5% | falling |
| 16 | Austria | 8.19 | 2025 | down 9.8% | falling |
| 17 | Estonia | 8.12 | 2025 | up 17.3% | flat |
| 18 | Latvia | 7.42 | 2025 | down 34.5% | falling |
| 19 | Hungary | 6.94 | 2025 | down 40.8% | falling |
| 20 | Slovenia | 6.93 | 2025 | down 59.2% | falling |
| 21 | Denmark | 6.38 | 2025 | down 19.7% | falling |
| 22 | Ireland | 6.27 | 2025 | down 52.0% | falling |
| 23 | Cyprus | 6.24 | 2025 | down 69.5% | falling |
| 24 | Germany | 5.8 | 2022 | down 29.6% | falling |
| 24 | Russia | 5.8 | 2020 | up 3.6% | falling |
| 26 | Belgium | 5.69 | 2025 | down 46.8% | falling |
| 27 | Luxembourg | 5.49 | 2025 | down 17.4% | falling |
| 28 | Mongolia | 5.45 | 2025 | down 44.8% | falling |
| 29 | Costa Rica | 5.42 | 2025 | down 34.8% | falling |
| 30 | Slovakia | 5.19 | 2025 | down 59.8% | falling |
| 31 | Czechia | 5.14 | 2025 | down 43.2% | falling |
| 32 | United Kingdom | 4.9 | 2025 | down 11.8% | falling |
| 33 | Ghana | 4.47 | 2024 | up 13.3% | rising |
| 34 | United States | 4.28 | 2025 | down 18.9% | falling |
| 35 | Moldova | 3.95 | 2025 | down 4.0% | falling |
| 36 | Switzerland | 3.89 | 2024 | up 0.0% | falling |
| 37 | Netherlands | 3.88 | 2025 | down 43.4% | falling |
| 38 | Cambodia | 3.63 | 2025 | up 196.6% | volatile |
| 39 | Israel | 3.37 | 2023 | down 28.6% | falling |
| 40 | Norway | 3.37 | 2025 | down 17.2% | falling |
| 41 | Romania | 0.61 | 2025 | down 86.2% | 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 includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. 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. For more information, refer to the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database description.