Unemployment rate women in Botswana
Botswana: Unemployment rate women was 27.88 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Unemployment rate women in Botswana, 1991–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Botswana recorded 27.88 for unemployment rate women in 2025. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 29.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment rate women in Botswana peaked at 27.88 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 17.04, in 1991.
That places Botswana 8th out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Unemployment rate women in Botswana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 17.04 | — |
| 1992 | 19.12 | +12.2% |
| 1993 | 21.08 | +10.3% |
| 1994 | 23.03 | +9.2% |
| 1995 | 23.61 | +2.5% |
| 1996 | 24.19 | +2.4% |
| 1997 | 23.74 | -1.8% |
| 1998 | 23.73 | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 20.34 | -14.3% |
| 2000 | 17.28 | -15.0% |
| 2001 | 22.15 | +28.2% |
| 2002 | 24.47 | +10.4% |
| 2003 | 26.53 | +8.4% |
| 2004 | 24.37 | -8.2% |
| 2005 | 22.36 | -8.2% |
| 2006 | 20.16 | -9.8% |
| 2007 | 19.72 | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 19.41 | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 19.78 | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 21.61 | +9.3% |
| 2011 | 21.57 | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 21.17 | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 21.22 | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 21.35 | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 21.61 | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 21.84 | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 21.99 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 21.77 | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 22.01 | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 22.67 | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 26.23 | +15.7% |
| 2022 | 26.06 | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 27.07 | +3.9% |
| 2024 | 27.57 | +1.8% |
| 2025 | 27.88 | +1.2% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 27.88 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 7.5, 3.7× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 27.88 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.12, 4.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment rate women in Botswana changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +28.2% | 17.28 | 22.15 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 21.77 | 17.04 | 24.19 | 9 |
| 2000s | 21.62 | 17.28 | 26.53 | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.62 | 21.17 | 22.01 | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.25 | 22.67 | 27.88 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More work & labour data for Botswana
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.146 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.1401 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.1516 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.9387 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.07 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 2,871 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 550.66 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 1,969 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 1,868 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 3,837 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment rate women in Botswana?
- Unemployment rate women in Botswana was 27.88 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest unemployment rate women recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 27.88 in 2025.
- What is the lowest unemployment rate women recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.04 in 1991.
- How does Botswana rank for unemployment rate women?
- Botswana ranks 8th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment rate women rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Botswana data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Unemployment rate women. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).