Skip to content. | Skip to navigation
 

Central Intelligence Agency

Navigation

Mission

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an independent US Government agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior US policymakers.

For more on the Agency's mission, visit our Strategic Intent.
Central Intelligence Agency
The Work of a Nation. The Center of Intelligence
CIA - The World Factbook The World Factbook Home
CIA - The World Factbook
Field Listing :: Unemployment rate
This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted.
Country Comparison to the World
Country
 Unemployment rate(%)
Afghanistan 35% (2008 est.)
40% (2005 est.)
Albania 12% (2009 est.)
12.5% (2008 est.)
note: these are official rates, but actual rates may exceed 30% due to preponderance of near-subsistence farming
Algeria 12.4% (2009 est.)
12.8% (2008 est.)
American Samoa 29.8% (2005)
Andorra 7% (2008)
0% (2007)
Angola NA
Anguilla 8% (2002)
Antigua and Barbuda 11% (2001 est.)
Argentina 9.6% (2009 est.)
7.9% (2008 est.)
note: data are based on private estimates. Official estimates put unemployment at 8.4% in 2009, and 7.3% in 2008, but the official figures lack credibility
Armenia 7.1% (2007 est.)
Aruba 6.9% (2005 est.)
Australia 5.7% (2009 est.)
4.2% (2008 est.)
Austria 4.7% (2009 est.)
3.9% (2008 est.)
Azerbaijan 6% (2009 est.)
7% (2008 est.)
Bahamas, The 7.6% (2006 est.)
Bahrain 15% (2005 est.)
Bangladesh 2.5% (2009 est.)
2.5% (2008 est.)
Barbados 10.7% (2003 est.)
Belarus 1% (2009 est.)
1.6% (2005)
Belgium 8.3% (2009 est.)
7% (2008 est.)
Belize 8.1% (2008)
9.4% (2006)
Benin NA% est.)
Bermuda 2.1% (2004 est.)
Bhutan 4% (2009)
2.5% (2004)
Bolivia 8.5% (2009 est.)
7.5% (2008 est.)
note: data are for urban areas; widespread underemployment
Bosnia and Herzegovina 40% (2009 est.)
29% (2007 est.)
note: official rate; gray economy may reduce actual unemployment to 25-30%
Botswana 7.5% (2007 est.)
Brazil 7.4% (2009 est.)
7.9% (2008 est.)
British Virgin Islands 3.6% (1997)
Brunei 3.7% (2008)
4% (2006)
Bulgaria 9.1% (2009)
6.3% (2008)
Burkina Faso 77% (2004)
Burma 4.9% (2009 est.)
5% (2008 est.)
Burundi NA%
Cambodia 3.5% (2007 est.)
2.5% (2000 est.)
Cameroon 30% (2001 est.)
Canada 8.5% (2009 est.)
6.2% (2008 est.)
Cape Verde 21% (2000 est.)
Cayman Islands 4% (2008)
4.4% (2004)
Central African Republic 8% (2001 est.)
note: 23% unemployment for Bangui
Chad NA% est.)
Chile 10% (2009 est.)
7.8% (2008 est.)
China 4.3% (September 2009 est.)
4.2% (December 2008 est.)
note: official data for urban areas only; including migrants may boost total unemployment to 9%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas
Cocos (Keeling) Islands 60% (2000 est.)
Colombia 12% (2009 est.)
10.6% (2008 est.)
Comoros 20% (1996 est.)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the NA%
Congo, Republic of the NA%
Cook Islands 13.1% (2005)
Costa Rica 6.4% (2009 est.)
4.9% (2008 est.)
Cote d'Ivoire
note: unemployment may have climbed to 40-50% as a result of the civil war
Croatia 16.1% (2009 est.)
13.7% (2008 est.)
Cuba 1.6% (2009 est.)
1.6% (2008 est.)
Cyprus 4.8% (2009 est.)
3.6% (2008 est.)
Czech Republic 9.3% (2009 est.)
5.4% (2008 est.)
Denmark 4.3% (2009 est.)
3.4% (2008 est.)
Djibouti 59% (2007 est.)
note: data are for urban areas, 83% in rural areas
Dominica 23% (2000 est.)
Dominican Republic 15.1% (2009 est.)
14.1% (2008 est.)
Ecuador 7.9% (2009 est.)
7.3% (2008 est.)
Egypt 9.7% (2009 est.)
8.7% (2008 est.)
El Salvador 7.2% (2009 est.)
6.9% (2008 est.)
note: data are official rates; but the economy has much underemployment
Equatorial Guinea 30% (1998 est.)
Eritrea NA%
Estonia 14.3% (2009 est.)
5.7% (2008 est.)
Ethiopia NA%
European Union 9.2% (2009 est.)
7.1% (2008 est.)
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) NA%
Faroe Islands 3.9% (2009)
1.2% (2008)
Fiji 7.6% (1999)
Finland 8.5% (2009 est.)
6.4% (2008)
France 9.7% (2009 est.)
7.4% (2008 est.)
French Polynesia 11.7% (2005)
Gabon 21% (2006 est.)
Gambia, The NA%
Gaza Strip 40% (2009 est.)
37% (2008)
Georgia 16.4% (2009 est.)
13.6% (2006 est.)
Germany 8.2% (2009 est.)
7.8% (2008 est.)
note: this is the International Labor Organization's estimated rate for international comparisons; Germany's Federal Employment Office estimated a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.8%
Ghana 11% (2000 est.)
Gibraltar 3% (2005 est.)
Greece 9% (2009 est.)
7.7% (2008 est.)
Greenland 6.8% (2007 est.)
7.3% (2006 est.)
Grenada 12.5% (2000)
Guam 11.4% (2002 est.)
Guatemala 3.2% (2005 est.)
Guernsey 0.9% (March 2006 est.)
Guinea NA% est.)
Guinea-Bissau NA% est.)
Guyana 11% (2007)
Haiti NA% est.)
note: widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs
Honduras 6% (2009 est.)
3.5% (2008 est.)
note: about 36% are unemployed or underemployed
Hong Kong 5.3% (2009 est.)
3.6% (2008 est.)
Hungary 10.8% (2009 est.)
7.8% (2008 est.)
Iceland 8.2% (December 2009 est.)
4.8% (December 2008 est.)
note: this figure climbed to 9.4% as of February 2009
India 10.7% (2009 est.)
10.4% (2008 est.)
Indonesia 7.7% (2009 est.)
8.4% (2008 est.)
Iran 11.8% (2009 est.)
10.3% (2008 est.)
note: data are according to the Iranian Government
Iraq 15.2% (2008 est.)
18% (2006 est.)
note: official data; unofficial estimates as high as 30%
Ireland 12% (2009 est.)
6.3% (2008 est.)
Isle of Man 1.5% (December 2006 est.)
Israel 7.4% (2009 est.)
6.1% (2008 est.)
Italy 7.5% (2009 est.)
6.8% (2008 est.)
Jamaica 14.5% (2009 est.)
11% (2008 est.)
Japan 5.6% (2009 est.)
4% (2008 est.)
Jersey 2.2% (2006 est.)
Jordan 13.5% (2009 est.)
12.6% (2008 est.)
note: official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30%
Kazakhstan 6.3% (2009 est.)
6.6% (2008 est.)
Kenya 40% (2008 est.)
40% (2001 est.)
Kiribati 2% (1992 est.)
Korea, North NA%
Korea, South 4.1% (2009 est.)
3.2% (2008 est.)
Kosovo 43% (2009 est.)
Kuwait 2.2% (2004 est.)
Kyrgyzstan 18% (2004 est.)
Laos 2.5% (2009 est.)
2.4% (2005 est.)
Latvia 16.6% (2009 est.)
7.5% (2008 est.)
Lebanon 9.2% (2007 est.)
Lesotho 45% (2002)
Liberia 85% (2003 est.) est.)
Libya 30% (2004 est.)
Liechtenstein 1.5% (31 December 2007)
1.3% (September 2002)
Lithuania 13.7% (2009 est.)
5.8% (2008 est.)
note: based on survey data, official registered unemployment of 5.7%
Luxembourg 6.8% (2009 est.)
4.4% (2008 est.)
Macau 3.6% (2009)
3% (2008)
Macedonia 31.7% (2009 est.)
33.8% (2008 est.)
Malawi NA%
Malaysia 5% (2009 est.)
3.3% (2008 est.)
Maldives 14.4% (2006 est.)
Mali 30% (2004 est.)
Malta 6.9% (2009 est.)
6.3% (2008)
Marshall Islands 36% (2006 est.)
30.9% (2000 est.)
Mauritania 30% (2008 est.)
20% (2004 est.)
Mauritius 7.8% (2009 est.)
7.2% (2008 est.)
Mayotte 25.4% (2005)
Mexico 5.6% (2009 est.)
4% (2008 est.)
note: underemployment may be as high as 25%
Micronesia, Federated States of 22% (2000 est.)
Moldova 2.6% (2009 est.)
1.5% (2008 est.)
Monaco 0% (2005)
Mongolia 2.8% (2008)
3% (2007)
Montenegro 14.7% (2007 est.)
Montserrat 6% (1998 est.)
Morocco 9.9% (2009 est.)
9.6% (2008 est.)
Mozambique 21% (1997 est.)
Namibia 5% (2008 est.)
Nauru 90% (2004 est.)
Nepal 46% (2008 est.)
42% (2004 est.)
Netherlands 5% (2009 est.)
4% (2008 est.)
Netherlands Antilles 15.5% (2002 est.)
New Caledonia 17.1% (2004)
New Zealand 7.3% (2009 est.)
4.2% (2008 est.)
Nicaragua 5.9% (2009 est.)
5.6% (2008 est.)
note: underemployment was 46.5% in 2008
Niger NA%
Nigeria 4.9% (2007 est.)
Niue 12% (2001)
Northern Mariana Islands 8% (2005 est.)
3.9% (2001)
Norway 3.2% (2009 est.)
2.6% (2008 est.)
Oman 15% (2004 est.)
Pakistan 15.2% (2009 est.)
13.6% (2008 est.)
note: substantial underemployment exists
Palau 4.2% (2005 est.)
Panama 7.1% (2009 est.)
5.6% (2008 est.)
Papua New Guinea 1.8% (2004)
Paraguay 7.9% (2009 est.)
5.7% (2008 est.)
Peru 9% (2009 est.)
8.1% (2008 est.)
note: data are for metropolitan Lima; widespread underemployment
Philippines 7.5% (2009 est.)
7.4% (2008 est.)
Poland 8.9% (January 2010 est.)
6.5% (December 2008 est.)
Portugal 9.2% (2009 est.)
7.6% (2008 est.)
Puerto Rico 12% (2002)
Qatar 0.5% (2009 est.)
0.4% (2008 est.)
Romania 7.6% (2009 est.)
4.4% (2008 est.)
Russia 8.9% (2009 est.)
6.5% (2008)
Rwanda NA%
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha 14% (1998 est.)
Saint Kitts and Nevis 4.5% (1997)
Saint Lucia 20% (2003 est.)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon 10.3% (1999)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 15% (2001 est.)
Samoa NA%
San Marino 3.1% (2008)
Sao Tome and Principe NA%
Saudi Arabia 11.6% (2009 est.)
11.8% (2008 est.)
note: data are for Saudi males only (local bank estimates; some estimates range as high as 25%)
Senegal 48% (2007 est.)
Serbia 16.6% (October 2009 est.)
Seychelles 2% (2006 est.)
Sierra Leone NA%
Singapore 3% (2009 est.)
2.2% (2008)
Slovakia 12.1% (2009)
7.7% (2008)
Slovenia 9.4% (2009 est.)
6.7% (2008 est.)
Solomon Islands NA%
Somalia NA%
South Africa 24% (2009 est.)
22.9% (2008 est.)
Spain 18.1% (2009 est.)
11.4% (2008 est.)
Sri Lanka 5.9% (2009 est.)
5.5% (2008 est.)
Sudan 18.7% (2002 est.)
Suriname 9.5% (2004)
Swaziland 40% (2006 est.)
Sweden 9.3% (2009 est.)
6.1% (2007 est.)
Switzerland 4.4% (February 2010 est.)
2.8% (2007 est.)
Syria 9.2% (2009 est.)
12.6% (2008 est.)
Taiwan 5.9% (2009 est.)
4.1% (2008 est.)
Tajikistan 2.2% (2009 est.)
2.3% (2008 est.)
note: official rates; actual unemployment is higher
Tanzania NA%
Thailand 1.6% (2009 est.)
1.4% (2008 est.)
Timor-Leste 20% (2006 est.)
note: data are for rural areas, unemployment rises to more than 40% among urban youth
Togo NA%
Tokelau NA%
Tonga 13% (FY03/04 est.)
Trinidad and Tobago 7.5% (2009 est.)
4.6% (2008 est.)
Tunisia 14.7% (2009 est.)
14.2% (2008 est.)
Turkey 14.5% (2009 est.)
11.2% (2008)
note: underemployment amounted to 4% in 2008
Turkmenistan 60% (2004 est.)
Turks and Caicos Islands 10% (1997 est.)
Tuvalu NA%
Uganda NA%
Ukraine 4.8% (2009 est.)
2.3% (2007 est.)
note: officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers
United Arab Emirates 2.4% (2001)
United Kingdom 8% (2009 est.)
5.6% (2008 est.)
United States 9.3% (2009 est.)
5.8% (2008 est.)
Uruguay 7.9% (2009 est.)
7.6% (2008 est.)
Uzbekistan 1.1% (2009 est.)
1% (2008 est.)
note: officially measured by the Ministry of Labor, plus another 20% underemployed
Vanuatu 1.7% (1999)
Venezuela 10.9% (2009 est.)
7.4% (2008 est.)
Vietnam 2.9% (April 2009 est.)
4.7% (2008 est.)
Virgin Islands 6.2% (2004)
Wallis and Futuna 15.2% (2003)
West Bank 19% (2009 est.)
17.7% (2008 est.)
Western Sahara NA%
World 8.7% (2009 est.)
7.2% (2008 est.)
note: 30% (2007 est.) combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment
Yemen 35% (2003 est.)
Zambia 50% (2000 est.)
Zimbabwe 95% (2009 est.)
80% (2005 est.)
Back to Top
The online Factbook is updated bi-weekly. ISSN 1553-8133
For additional information on government leaders in selected foreign countries, go to World Leaders.