Field Listing - Unemployment rate
Home
Reference Maps
Appendixes
Rank Order List
Country
Unemployment rate (%)
Afghanistan
NA%
Albania
17% officially; may be as high as 30% (2001 est.)
Algeria
31% (2002 est.)
American Samoa
6% (2000)
Andorra
0%
Angola
extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2002 est.)
Anguilla
6.7% (2001)
Antigua and Barbuda
11% (2001 est.)
Argentina
21.5% (May 2002)
Armenia
20% (2001 est.)
Aruba
0.6%
Australia
6.3% (2002)
Austria
4.8% (2002 est.)
Azerbaijan
16% (official rate is 1.1% for 2002) (2001 est.)
Bahamas, The
6.9% (2001 est.)
Bahrain
15% (1998 est.)
Bangladesh
40% (includes underemployment) (2002 est.)
Barbados
10% (2001 est.)
Belarus
2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers
Belgium
7.2% (2002 est.)
Belize
9.1% (2002)
Benin
NA%
Bermuda
4.5% (1993)
Bhutan
NA%
Bolivia
7.6%
note:
widespread underemployment (2000)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
40% (2002 est.)
Botswana
40% (official rate is 21%) (2001 est.)
Brazil
6.4% (2001 est.)
British Virgin Islands
3% (1995)
Brunei
10% (2001 est.)
Bulgaria
18% (2002 est.)
Burkina Faso
NA%
Burma
5.1% (2001 est.)
Burundi
NA%
Cambodia
2.8% (1999 est.)
Cameroon
30% (2001 est.)
Canada
7.6% (2002 est.)
Cape Verde
21% (2000 est.)
Cayman Islands
4.1% (1997)
Central African Republic
8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.)
Chad
NA%
Chile
9.2% (2002)
China
urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2002 est.)
Christmas Island
NA%
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
60% (2000 est.)
Colombia
17.4% (2002 est.)
Comoros
20% (1996 est.)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
NA%
Congo, Republic of the
NA%
Cook Islands
13% (1996)
Costa Rica
6.3% (2002 est.)
Cote d'Ivoire
13% in urban areas (1998)
Croatia
21.7% (2002 est.)
Cuba
4.1% (2001 est.)
Cyprus
Greek Cypriot area: 3.3%; Turkish Cypriot area: 5.6% (1999 est.)
Czech Republic
9.8% (2002)
Denmark
5.1% (2002)
Djibouti
50% (2000 est.)
Dominica
23% (2000 est.)
Dominican Republic
14.5% (2002 est.)
East Timor
50% (including underemployment)
Ecuador
7.7%; note - widespread underemployment (2001 est.)
Egypt
12% (2001 est.)
El Salvador
10% - but the economy has much underemployment. (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
8.5% (2002 est.)
France
9.1% (2002 est.)
French Guiana
22% (2001)
French Polynesia
11.8% (1994)
Gabon
21% (1997 est.)
Gambia, The
NA%
Gaza Strip
50% (includes West Bank) (2002 est.)
Georgia
17% (2001 est.)
Germany
9.8% (2002 est.)
Ghana
20% (1997 est.)
Gibraltar
2% (2001 est.)
Greece
10.3% (2002 est.)
Greenland
10% (2000 est.)
Grenada
12.5% (2000)
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% (understated) (2000)
Haiti
widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.)
Honduras
28% (2002 est.)
Hong Kong
7.5% (2002 est.)
Hungary
5.8% (2002 est.)
Iceland
2.8% (2002 est.)
India
8.8% (2002)
Indonesia
10.6% (2002 est.)
Iran
16.3% (2003 est.)
Iraq
NA%
Ireland
4.3% (2002 est.)
Israel
10.4% (2002 est.)
Italy
9.1% (2002 est.)
Jamaica
15.4% (2002 est.)
Japan
5.4% (2002)
Jersey
0.7% (1998 est.)
Jordan
16% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (2001 est.)
Kazakhstan
8.8% (2002 est.)
Kenya
40% (2001 est.)
Kiribati
2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)
Korea, North
NA%
Korea, South
3.1% (2002 est.)
Kuwait
7% (2002 est.)
Kyrgyzstan
7.2% (1999 est.)
Laos
5.7% (1997 est.)
Latvia
7.6% (2001 est.)
Lebanon
18% (1997 est.)
Lesotho
45% (2002)
Liberia
NA
Libya
30% (2001)
Liechtenstein
1.3% (September 2002)
Lithuania
12.5% (2001 est.)
Luxembourg
4.1% (2002 est.)
Macau
6.3% (2002)
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
37% (2002 est.)
Madagascar
5.9% (1998)
Malawi
NA%
Malaysia
3.8% (2002 est.)
Maldives
NEGL%
Mali
14.6% urban areas; 5.3% rural areas (2001 est.)
Malta
7% (2002 est.)
Man, Isle of
0.7% (March 2003)
Marshall Islands
30.9% (1999 est.)
Martinique
27.2% (1998)
Mauritania
21% (1999 est.)
Mauritius
8.8% (2002 est.)
Mayotte
38% (1999)
Mexico
urban - 3% plus considerable underemployment (2002)
Micronesia, Federated States of
16% (1999 est.)
Moldova
8% (roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (2002 est.)
Monaco
3.1% (1998)
Mongolia
20% (2000)
Montserrat
6% (1998 est.)
Morocco
19% (2002 est.)
Mozambique
21% (1997 est.)
Namibia
35% (1998)
Nauru
0%
Nepal
47% (2001 est.)
Netherlands
3% (2002 est.)
Netherlands Antilles
15% (1998 est.)
New Caledonia
19% (1996)
New Zealand
5.3% (2002 est.)
Nicaragua
24% plus considerable underemployment (2002 est.)
Niger
NA%
Nigeria
28% (1992 est.)
Niue
NA%
Norfolk Island
NA%
Northern Mariana Islands
NA%
Norway
3.9% (2002 est.)
Oman
NA%
Pakistan
7.8% plus substantial underemployment (2002 est.)
Palau
2.3% (2000 est.)
Panama
16% (2002 est.)
Papua New Guinea
NA%
Paraguay
18.2% (2002 est.)
Peru
9.4%; widespread underemployment (2002 est.)
Philippines
10.2% (2002)
Pitcairn Islands
NA%
Poland
18.1% (2002)
Portugal
4.7% (2002 est.)
Puerto Rico
12% (2002)
Qatar
2.7% (2001)
Reunion
36% (1999 est.)
Romania
8.3% (2002)
Russia
7.9% plus considerable underemployment (2002)
Rwanda
NA%
Saint Helena
14% (1998 est.)
Saint Kitts and Nevis
4.5% (1997)
Saint Lucia
16.5% (1997 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
25% (2002)
Senegal
48% (urban youth 40%) (2001 est.)
Serbia and Montenegro
32% (2002 est.)
Seychelles
NA%
Sierra Leone
NA%
Singapore
4.6% (2002 est.)
Slovakia
17.2% (2002 est.)
Slovenia
11% (2002 est.)
Solomon Islands
NA%
Somalia
NA%
South Africa
37% (includes workers no longer looking for employment) (2001 est.)
Spain
11.3% (2002 est.)
Sri Lanka
8% (2002)
Sudan
18.7% (2002 est.)
Suriname
17% (2000)
Swaziland
34% (2000 est.)
Sweden
4% (2002 est.)
Switzerland
1.9% (2002 est.)
Syria
20% (2002 est.)
Taiwan
5.2% (2002 est.)
Tajikistan
40% (2002 est.)
Tanzania
NA%
Thailand
2.9% (2002 est.)
Togo
NA%
Tokelau
NA%
Tonga
13.3% (1996 est.)
Trinidad and Tobago
10.8% (2002)
Tunisia
15.4% (2002 est.)
Turkey
10.8% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2002 est.)
Turkmenistan
NA%
Turks and Caicos Islands
10% (1997 est.)
Tuvalu
NA%
Uganda
NA%
Ukraine
3.8% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (2002)
United Arab Emirates
NA%
United Kingdom
5.2% (2002 est.)
United States
5.8% (2002)
Uruguay
19.4% (2002)
Uzbekistan
10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999 est.)
Vanuatu
NA%
Venezuela
17% (2002 est.)
Vietnam
25% (1995 est.)
Virgin Islands
4.9% (March 1999)
Wallis and Futuna
NA%
West Bank
50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.)
Western Sahara
NA%
World
30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment
Yemen
30% (1995 est.)
Zambia
50% (2000 est.)
Zimbabwe
70% (2002 est.)
This page was last updated on 1 August, 2003