Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Brunei
Brunei: Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) was 16.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Brunei, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
The most recent figure for unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Brunei is 16.4%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.4% on the previous year and down 34.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Brunei peaked at 29.6% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 12.0%, in 2021.
That places Brunei 64th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Brunei, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 12.1% | — |
| 1992 | 12.6% | +4.0% |
| 1993 | 13.1% | +4.0% |
| 1994 | 13.6% | +3.4% |
| 1995 | 13.9% | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 14.2% | +2.4% |
| 1997 | 14.4% | +1.7% |
| 1998 | 14.9% | +3.3% |
| 1999 | 15.2% | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 15.6% | +2.5% |
| 2001 | 15.7% | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 16.2% | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 16.6% | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 17.2% | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 17.8% | +3.6% |
| 2006 | 18.4% | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 18.9% | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 19.2% | +2.1% |
| 2009 | 19.8% | +2.8% |
| 2010 | 20.1% | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 20.5% | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 21.1% | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 21.9% | +3.6% |
| 2014 | 22.7% | +3.6% |
| 2015 | 24.8% | +9.6% |
| 2016 | 27.0% | +8.7% |
| 2017 | 29.0% | +7.6% |
| 2018 | 29.6% | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 17.8% | -39.9% |
| 2020 | 22.9% | +28.9% |
| 2021 | 12.0% | -47.7% |
| 2022 | 16.1% | +34.1% |
| 2023 | 16.1% | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 16.0% | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 16.4% | +2.4% |
Brunei compared with similar countries
- Brunei's 16.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 13.9%, 1.2× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Brunei's 16.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 8.8%, 1.9× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Brunei 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | -47.7% | 22.9% | 12.0% |
| 2019 | -39.9% | 29.6% | 17.8% |
| 2022 | +34.1% | 12.0% | 16.1% |
| 2020 | +28.9% | 17.8% | 22.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13.8% | 12.1% | 15.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | 17.5% | 15.6% | 19.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.4% | 17.8% | 29.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.6% | 12.0% | 22.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Brunei
More work & labour data for Brunei
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 137.72 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 63.56 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 240.28 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 5.43 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.08 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 172,284 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 64,415 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 60.11 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 2.06 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.5234 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Brunei?
- Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Brunei was 16.4% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Brunei?
- The highest recorded value was 29.6% in 2018.
- What is the lowest unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Brunei?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.0% in 2021.
- How does Brunei rank for unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24)?
- Brunei ranks 64th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) rising or falling in Brunei?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Brunei data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 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.