Unemployment rate in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Unemployment rate was 4.43 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
4.43
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
114th
of 186 countries
All-time high
5.36
in 2020
All-time low
2.95
in 2005
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Unemployment rate in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1991–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 4.43 for unemployment rate in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment rate in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 5.36 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.95, in 2005.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 114th of 186 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Unemployment rate in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 3.27 | — |
| 1992 | 3.37 | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 3.45 | +2.3% |
| 1994 | 3.4 | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 3.29 | -3.5% |
| 1996 | 3.16 | -3.9% |
| 1997 | 3.17 | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 3.19 | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 3.23 | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 3.25 | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 3.25 | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 3.18 | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 3.06 | -3.8% |
| 2004 | 2.98 | -2.6% |
| 2005 | 2.95 | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 3.17 | +7.7% |
| 2007 | 3.4 | +7.2% |
| 2008 | 3.63 | +6.6% |
| 2009 | 3.88 | +7.0% |
| 2010 | 4.1 | +5.6% |
| 2011 | 4.32 | +5.3% |
| 2012 | 4.49 | +3.9% |
| 2013 | 4.47 | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 4.44 | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 4.44 | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 4.53 | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 4.61 | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 4.63 | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 4.61 | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 5.36 | +16.3% |
| 2021 | 5.29 | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 4.54 | -14.2% |
| 2023 | 4.47 | -1.6% |
| 2024 | 4.42 | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 4.43 | +0.3% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 4.43 is above the median for low income countries, which is 4.43, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 4.43 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.45, 81% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.28 | 3.16 | 3.45 | 9 |
| 2000s | 3.27 | 2.95 | 3.88 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.46 | 4.1 | 4.63 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.75 | 4.42 | 5.36 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More work & labour data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 23,407 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 64.13 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 41,856 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.48 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 2 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 4,595 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 1,696 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 61.26 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 3.69 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 3.33 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment rate in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Unemployment rate in Democratic Republic of Congo was 4.43 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest unemployment rate recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 5.36 in 2020.
- What is the lowest unemployment rate recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.95 in 2005.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for unemployment rate?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 114th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment rate rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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).