Unemployment rate (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
Unemployment rate (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) is currently reported for 58 countries. The highest value is 24.43 in Botswana; the lowest is 0.61 in Romania.
The median across all reporting countries is 5.73, and the mean is 6.93.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 40.
Over the past decade 22 countries rose and 35 fell. The largest increase was in Cambodia (up 373.3%), and the largest decrease in Romania (down 86.2%).
Unemployment rate: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Botswana | 24.43 | 2024 | up 51.1% | rising |
| 2 | Palestine, State of | 24.42 | 2022 | — | flat |
| 3 | Serbia | 22.16 | 2025 | down 43.0% | flat |
| 4 | Spain | 15.31 | 2025 | down 31.0% | rising |
| 5 | Zimbabwe | 12.13 | 2024 | up 154.1% | rising |
| 6 | Greece | 11.41 | 2025 | down 58.6% | rising |
| 7 | France | 10.82 | 2025 | up 4.1% | flat |
| 8 | Lithuania | 10.69 | 2025 | down 4.5% | falling |
| 9 | Finland | 10.66 | 2025 | down 19.4% | flat |
| 10 | Portugal | 9.56 | 2025 | down 48.5% | flat |
| 11 | Croatia | 9.04 | 2025 | down 65.2% | falling |
| 12 | Bulgaria | 8.96 | 2025 | down 1.5% | falling |
| 13 | Sweden | 8.77 | 2025 | up 24.0% | rising |
| 14 | Colombia | 8.43 | 2025 | up 10.1% | rising |
| 15 | Italy | 8.32 | 2025 | down 50.5% | falling |
| 16 | Armenia | 8.3 | 2023 | down 49.9% | falling |
| 17 | Austria | 8.19 | 2025 | down 9.8% | rising |
| 18 | Estonia | 8.12 | 2025 | up 31.0% | falling |
| 19 | Chile | 8.05 | 2022 | up 12.6% | falling |
| 20 | Latvia | 7.42 | 2025 | down 34.5% | falling |
| 21 | Burkina Faso | 7.08 | 2025 | up 354.2% | volatile |
| 22 | Hungary | 6.94 | 2025 | down 11.0% | falling |
| 23 | Slovenia | 6.93 | 2025 | down 59.2% | falling |
| 24 | Denmark | 6.38 | 2025 | down 19.7% | rising |
| 25 | Ireland | 6.27 | 2025 | down 52.0% | falling |
| 26 | Cyprus | 6.24 | 2025 | down 69.5% | volatile |
| 27 | Germany | 5.8 | 2022 | down 30.5% | falling |
| 27 | Russian Federation | 5.8 | 2020 | up 3.6% | falling |
| 29 | Senegal | 5.78 | 2024 | down 14.5% | flat |
| 30 | Belgium | 5.69 | 2025 | down 46.8% | falling |
| 31 | Zambia | 5.67 | 2024 | down 52.3% | falling |
| 32 | Luxembourg | 5.49 | 2025 | down 17.4% | flat |
| 33 | Costa Rica | 5.42 | 2025 | down 36.2% | flat |
| 34 | Mongolia | 5.41 | 2025 | up 11.3% | rising |
| 35 | Rwanda | 5.36 | 2025 | up 358.8% | rising |
| 36 | Slovakia | 5.19 | 2025 | down 54.9% | falling |
| 37 | Czechia | 5.14 | 2025 | up 1.8% | falling |
| 38 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 4.9 | 2025 | down 11.8% | falling |
| 39 | Poland | 4.43 | 2025 | down 40.7% | volatile |
| 40 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 4.41 | 2024 | up 118.3% | rising |
| 41 | Peru | 4.32 | 2025 | up 32.0% | rising |
| 42 | Sri Lanka | 4.32 | 2024 | down 0.0% | flat |
| 43 | United States of America | 4.28 | 2025 | down 18.9% | falling |
| 44 | Ghana | 3.97 | 2024 | up 82.8% | falling |
| 45 | Switzerland | 3.89 | 2024 | up 0.0% | rising |
| 46 | Netherlands | 3.88 | 2025 | down 43.4% | rising |
| 47 | Israel | 3.37 | 2023 | down 28.6% | falling |
| 48 | Norway | 3.37 | 2025 | down 25.1% | flat |
| 49 | Indonesia | 3.31 | 2023 | up 27.7% | rising |
| 50 | Cambodia | 3.27 | 2025 | up 373.3% | volatile |
| 51 | Seychelles | 2.58 | 2025 | down 26.3% | falling |
| 52 | Iceland | 2.56 | 2016 | up 70.0% | volatile |
| 53 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 2.43 | 2024 | up 14.4% | rising |
| 54 | Côte d'Ivoire | 2.31 | 2022 | up 21.8% | falling |
| 55 | Togo | 1.97 | 2022 | down 0.9% | volatile |
| 56 | Republic of Moldova | 1.28 | 2025 | down 67.1% | volatile |
| 57 | Thailand | 0.812 | 2019 | up 31.8% | rising |
| 58 | 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 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. 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. 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.