Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) was 18.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) in Saudi Arabia, 1992–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) in Saudi Arabia stood at 18.9%. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.
That represents a change of down 12.7% on the previous year and down 67.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) in Saudi Arabia peaked at 61.9% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 18.9%, in 2025.
Saudi Arabia ranks 60th of 157 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 19.6% | — |
| 2007 | 45.6% | +132.8% |
| 2008 | 50.1% | +9.9% |
| 2009 | 54.8% | +9.5% |
| 2012 | 54.4% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 55.3% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 57.9% | +4.6% |
| 2017 | 61.9% | +6.9% |
| 2018 | 58.8% | -4.9% |
| 2019 | 51.6% | -12.2% |
| 2020 | 51.5% | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 28.6% | -44.4% |
| 2022 | 26.4% | -7.8% |
| 2023 | 23.0% | -12.8% |
| 2024 | 21.6% | -6.1% |
| 2025 | 18.9% | -12.7% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 18.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 13.6%, 1.4× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 18.9% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 29.0%, 65% of the median. (19 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) in Saudi Arabia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | +132.8% | 19.6% | 45.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19.6% | 19.6% | 19.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 50.2% | 45.6% | 54.8% | 3 |
| 2010s | 56.7% | 51.6% | 61.9% | 6 |
| 2020s | 28.4% | 18.9% | 51.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More work & labour data for Saudi Arabia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.6339 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.5946 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.6842 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.31 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.5985 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 40,709 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 4,348 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 31,198 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 39,809 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 71,007 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) in Saudi Arabia?
- Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) in Saudi Arabia was 18.9% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 61.9% in 2017.
- What is the lowest unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.9% in 2025.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24)?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 60th out of 157 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 67.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country.