Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income): Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) was 15.4% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), 2006–2021
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) recorded 15.4% for unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in 2021.
That represents a change of down 4.5% on the previous year and up 25.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) peaked at 16.6% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 10.6%, in 2008.
That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 7th out of 21 groups with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 11.8% | — |
| 2007 | 11.2% | -4.9% |
| 2008 | 10.6% | -6.0% |
| 2009 | 11.4% | +7.7% |
| 2010 | 12.6% | +10.7% |
| 2011 | 12.3% | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 16.6% | +34.2% |
| 2013 | 15.5% | -6.1% |
| 2014 | 14.9% | -4.1% |
| 2015 | 16.2% | +8.4% |
| 2016 | 16.3% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 13.8% | -15.3% |
| 2020 | 16.2% | +17.1% |
| 2021 | 15.4% | -4.5% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +34.2% | 12.3% | 16.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 11.3% | 10.6% | 11.8% | 4 |
| 2010s | 14.8% | 12.3% | 16.6% | 8 |
| 2020s | 15.8% | 15.4% | 16.2% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)
- 4 Tunisia 39.5% compare
- 5 Namibia 37.5% compare
- 6 Palestine 37.4% compare
- 7 Puerto Rico 34.9% compare
- 8 Iraq 31.6% compare
- 9 New Caledonia 30.9% compare
- 10 North Macedonia 30.3% compare
More work & labour data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 17.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 71.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 44.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) 13.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) 50.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 32.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages) 47.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 75.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 19.0% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 25.1% (2025)
All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) was 15.4% in 2021, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 16.6% in 2012.
- What is the lowest unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.6% in 2008.
- How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) rank for unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24)?
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) ranks 7th out of 21 groups with data for 2021.
- Is unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 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.