Unemployment rate in Bhutan
Bhutan: Unemployment rate was 3.23 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Unemployment rate in Bhutan, 1991–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Bhutan recorded 3.23 for unemployment rate in 2025.
That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and up 31.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment rate in Bhutan peaked at 5.95 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1.38, in 1991.
Bhutan ranks 140th of 186 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Unemployment rate in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1.38 | — |
| 1992 | 1.39 | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 1.42 | +1.9% |
| 1994 | 1.41 | -0.9% |
| 1995 | 1.4 | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 1.39 | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 1.39 | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 1.4 | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 1.4 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1.66 | +18.2% |
| 2001 | 1.9 | +14.8% |
| 2002 | 1.85 | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 1.8 | -2.9% |
| 2004 | 2.49 | +38.3% |
| 2005 | 3.1 | +24.5% |
| 2006 | 3.13 | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 3.7 | +18.2% |
| 2008 | 3.85 | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 3.96 | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 3.32 | -16.2% |
| 2011 | 3.23 | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 2.05 | -36.5% |
| 2013 | 2.87 | +40.0% |
| 2014 | 2.63 | -8.4% |
| 2015 | 2.45 | -6.8% |
| 2016 | 2.71 | +10.5% |
| 2017 | 3.03 | +11.8% |
| 2018 | 3.35 | +10.7% |
| 2019 | 2.72 | -18.8% |
| 2020 | 5.03 | +84.9% |
| 2021 | 4.8 | -4.5% |
| 2022 | 5.95 | +23.8% |
| 2023 | 3.13 | -47.4% |
| 2024 | 3.28 | +5.0% |
| 2025 | 3.23 | -1.7% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's 3.23 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.06, 64% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's 3.23 is below the median for South Asia, which is 4.11, 78% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment rate in Bhutan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +84.9% | 2.72 | 5.03 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.4 | 1.38 | 1.42 | 9 |
| 2000s | 2.74 | 1.66 | 3.96 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.84 | 2.05 | 3.35 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.24 | 3.13 | 5.95 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More work & labour data for Bhutan
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.7164 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.6963 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.7381 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.816 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.9406 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 573.27 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 420.94 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 334.32 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 356.11 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 690.43 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment rate in Bhutan?
- Unemployment rate in Bhutan was 3.23 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest unemployment rate recorded in Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 5.95 in 2022.
- What is the lowest unemployment rate recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.38 in 1991.
- How does Bhutan rank for unemployment rate?
- Bhutan ranks 140th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment rate rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Unemployment rate. 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).