|
| 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.) |