Unemployment rate in Bolivia
Bolivia: Unemployment rate was 2.97 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Unemployment rate in Bolivia, 1991–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Bolivia recorded 2.97 for unemployment rate in 2025.
The figure is down 9.4% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment rate in Bolivia peaked at 7.9 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.02, in 2014.
Bolivia ranks 149th 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 Bolivia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 2.94 | — |
| 1992 | 3.03 | +3.2% |
| 1993 | 3.05 | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 3.08 | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 2.66 | -13.5% |
| 1996 | 2.38 | -10.8% |
| 1997 | 2.08 | -12.4% |
| 1998 | 2.12 | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 2.3 | +8.4% |
| 2000 | 2.44 | +6.1% |
| 2001 | 2.62 | +7.5% |
| 2002 | 2.6 | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 2.65 | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 2.62 | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 2.6 | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 2.58 | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 2.61 | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 2.6 | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 2.97 | +14.2% |
| 2010 | 2.61 | -12.2% |
| 2011 | 2.25 | -13.6% |
| 2012 | 2.07 | -8.4% |
| 2013 | 2.44 | +18.0% |
| 2014 | 2.02 | -17.1% |
| 2015 | 3.11 | +53.9% |
| 2016 | 3.5 | +12.4% |
| 2017 | 3.65 | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 3.52 | -3.7% |
| 2019 | 3.68 | +4.6% |
| 2020 | 7.9 | +114.6% |
| 2021 | 5.09 | -35.6% |
| 2022 | 3.55 | -30.2% |
| 2023 | 3.02 | -14.9% |
| 2024 | 3.27 | +8.3% |
| 2025 | 2.97 | -9.4% |
Bolivia compared with similar countries
- Bolivia's 2.97 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.06, 59% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Bolivia's 2.97 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 5.99, 50% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment rate in Bolivia 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 | +114.6% | 3.68 | 7.9 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.63 | 2.08 | 3.08 | 9 |
| 2000s | 2.63 | 2.44 | 2.97 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.89 | 2.02 | 3.68 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.3 | 2.97 | 7.9 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bolivia
More work & labour data for Bolivia
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 1,928 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 79.04 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 7,271 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 2.58 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.823 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 17,718 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 5,806 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 77 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.9059 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 2.01 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment rate in Bolivia?
- Unemployment rate in Bolivia was 2.97 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest unemployment rate recorded in Bolivia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.9 in 2020.
- What is the lowest unemployment rate recorded in Bolivia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.02 in 2014.
- How does Bolivia rank for unemployment rate?
- Bolivia ranks 149th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment rate rising or falling in Bolivia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bolivia 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).