Top banner
The World Factbook 2002
  Field Listing - Unemployment rate


This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted.
Country
Unemployment rate (%)
Afghanistan NA%
Albania 17% officially (2001 est.); may be as high as 30%
Algeria 34% (2001 est.)
American Samoa 6% (2000)
Andorra 0%
Angola extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.)
Anguilla 8% (1999)
Antigua and Barbuda 7% (2000 est.)
Argentina 25% (yearend 2001)
Armenia 20%
note: official rate is 10.9% for 2000 (2001 est.)
Aruba 0.6% (1999 est.)
Australia 6.7% (2001)
Austria 4.8% (2001)
Azerbaijan 20% (official rate is 1.3% for 2001) (1999 est.)
Bahamas, The 6.9% (2001 est.)
Bahrain 15% (1998 est.)
Bangladesh 35% (2001 est.)
Barbados 10% (2001 est.)
Belarus 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers
Belgium 6.8% (2001 est.)
Belize 11.5% (2000)
Benin NA%
Bermuda 4.5% (1993)
Bhutan NA%
Bolivia 7.6% (2000)
note: widespread underemployment
Bosnia and Herzegovina 40% (2001 est.)
Botswana 40% (official rate is 21%) (2001 est.)
Brazil 6.4% (2001 est.)
British Virgin Islands 3% (1995)
Brunei 10% (2001 est.)
Bulgaria 17.5% (2001 est.)
Burkina Faso NA%
Burma 5.1% (2001 est.)
Burundi NA%
Cambodia 2.8% (1999 est.)
Cameroon 30% (2001 est.)
Canada 7.2% (2001 est.)
Cape Verde 21% (2000 est.)
Cayman Islands 4.1% (1997)
Central African Republic 8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.)
Chad NA%
Chile 10.1% (2001)
China urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2001 est.)
Christmas Island NA%
Cocos (Keeling) Islands 60% (2000 est.)
Colombia 17% (2001 est.)
Comoros 20% (1996 est.)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the NA%
Congo, Republic of the NA%
Cook Islands 13% (1996)
Costa Rica 5.2% (2000 est.)
Cote d'Ivoire 13% in urban areas (1998 est.)
Croatia 23% (December 2001)
Cuba 4.1% (2001 est.)
Cyprus Greek Cypriot area: 3% (2001 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: 5.6% (1999 est.)
Czech Republic 8.5% (2001 est.)
Denmark 5.3% (2000)
Djibouti 50% (2000 est.)
Dominica 23% (2000 est.)
Dominican Republic 15% (2001 est.)
East Timor 50% (including underemployment)
Ecuador 14%; note - widespread underemployment (2001 est.)
Egypt 12% (2001 est.)
El Salvador 10% (2001 est.)
Equatorial Guinea 30% (1998 est.)
Eritrea NA%
Estonia 12.4% (2001)
Ethiopia NA%
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) full employment; labor shortage
Faroe Islands 1% (October 2000)
Fiji 7.6% (1999)
Finland 9.4% (2001 est.)
France 8.9% (2001 est.)
French Guiana 21.4% (1998)
French Polynesia NA%
Gabon 21% (1997 est.)
Gambia, The NA%
Gaza Strip 26% (includes West Bank) (2001 est.)
Georgia 17% (2001 est.)
Germany 9.4% (2001)
Ghana 20% (1997 est.)
Gibraltar 13.5% (1996)
Greece 11% (2001 est.)
Greenland 10% (2000 est.)
Grenada 11.5% (1999)
Guadeloupe 27.8% (1998)
Guam 15% (2000 est.)
Guatemala 7.5% (1999 est.)
Guernsey 0.5% (1999 est.)
Guinea NA%
Guinea-Bissau NA%
Guyana 9.1% (2000) (understated)
Haiti widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2001)
Honduras 28% (2001 est.)
Hong Kong 5.2% (2001 est.)
Hungary 6.5% (2001 est.)
Iceland 1% (April 2001 est.)
India 4.4% (1999)
Indonesia 8% (2001 est.)
Iran 14% (1999 est.)
Iraq NA%
Ireland 4.3% (2001)
Israel 9% (2001 est.)
Italy 10% (2001 est.)
Jamaica 16% (2000 est.)
Japan 4.9% (2001)
Jersey 0.7% (1998 est.)
Jordan 16% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (2001 est.)
Kazakhstan 10% (2001 est.)
Kenya 40% (2001 est.)
Kiribati 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)
Korea, North NA%
Korea, South 3.9% (2001)
Kuwait 1.8% (official 1996 est.)
Kyrgyzstan 7.2% (1999 est.)
Laos 5.7% (1997 est.)
Latvia 7.6% (2001 est.)
Lebanon 18% (1997 est.)
Lesotho 45% (2000 est.)
Liberia 70%
Libya 30% (2000 est.)
Liechtenstein 1.8% (February 1999)
Lithuania 12.5% (2001 est.)
Luxembourg 2.4% (2001 est.)
Macau 6.5% (2001 est.)
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of 39% (2001 est.)
Madagascar NA%
Malawi NA%
Malaysia 3.7% (2001 est.)
Maldives NEGL%
Mali 14.6% urban areas; 5.3% rural areas (2001 est.)
Malta 4.5% (2000)
Man, Isle of 0.7% (February 2002)
Marshall Islands 30.9% (1999 est.)
Martinique 27.2% (1998)
Mauritania 21% (1999 est.)
Mauritius 8.6% (2001 est.)
Mayotte 45% (1997)
Mexico urban - 3% plus considerable underemployment (2001)
Micronesia, Federated States of 16% (1999 est.)
Moldova 1.9% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers; 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (November 2000)
Monaco 3.1% (1998)
Mongolia 20% (2000)
Montserrat 6% (1998 est.)
Morocco 23% (1999 est.)
Mozambique 21% (1997 est.)
Namibia 30% to 40%, including underemployment (1997 est.)
Nauru 0%
Nepal 47% (2001 est.)
Netherlands 2.4% (2001)
Netherlands Antilles 15% (1998 est.)
New Caledonia 19% (1996)
New Zealand 5.5% (2001 est.)
Nicaragua 23% plus considerable underemployment (2001 est.)
Niger NA%
Nigeria 28% (1992 est.)
Niue NA%
Norfolk Island NA%
Northern Mariana Islands NA%
Norway 3.6% (2001 est.)
Oman NA%
Pakistan 6.3% (2001 est.)
Palau 2.3% (2000 est.)
Panama 13% (2000 est.)
Papua New Guinea NA%
Paraguay 17.8% (2001 est.)
Peru 9%; widespread underemployment (2001 est.)
Philippines 10% (2001)
Pitcairn Islands NA%
Poland 16.7% (2001 est.)
Portugal 4.4% (2001 est.)
Puerto Rico 9.5% (2000)
Qatar 2.7% (2001)
Reunion 42.8% (1998)
Romania 9.1% (2001)
Russia 8.7% (2001 est.), plus considerable underemployment
Rwanda NA%
Saint Helena 14% (1998 est.)
Saint Kitts and Nevis 4.5% (1997)
Saint Lucia 15% (1996 est.)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon 9.8% (1997)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 22% (1997 est.)
Samoa NA%; note - substantial underemployment
San Marino 2.6% (2001)
Sao Tome and Principe NA%
Saudi Arabia NA%
Senegal 48% (urban youth 40%) (2001 est.)
Seychelles NA%
Sierra Leone NA%
Singapore 4.7% (2001 est.)
Slovakia 19.8% (yearend 2001 est.)
Slovenia 11.5% (2001 est.)
Solomon Islands NA%
Somalia NA%
South Africa 37% (2001 est.)
Spain 13% (2001 est.)
Sri Lanka 7.7% (2001)
Sudan 18.7% (2002 est.)
Suriname 20% (1997)
Swaziland 34% (2000 est.)
Sweden 3.9% (2001 est.)
Switzerland 1.8% (2001)
Syria 20% (2000 est.)
Taiwan 4.5% (2001 est.)
Tajikistan 20% (2001 est.)
Tanzania NA%
Thailand 3.9% (2001 est.)
Togo NA%
Tokelau NA%
Tonga 13.3% (1996 est.)
Trinidad and Tobago 11.8% (2001)
Tunisia 15.6% (2000 est.)
Turkey 10.6% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2001 4th quarter)
Turkmenistan NA%
Turks and Caicos Islands 10% (1997 est.)
Tuvalu NA%
Uganda NA%
Ukraine 3.6% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (November 2001)
United Arab Emirates NA%
United Kingdom 5.1% (2001 est.)
United States 5% (2001)
Uruguay 15.2% (2001)
Uzbekistan 10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999 est.)
Vanuatu NA%
Venezuela 14.1% (2001 est.)
Vietnam 25% (1995 est.)
Virgin Islands 4.9% (March 1999)
Wallis and Futuna NA%
West Bank 26% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)
Western Sahara NA%
World 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2001 est.)
Yemen 30% (1995 est.)
Yugoslavia 30% (2001)
Zambia 50% (2000 est.)
Zimbabwe 60% (2001 est.)

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
Bottom Banner