Field Listing - Unemployment rate
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Rank Order List
Country
Unemployment rate (%)
Afghanistan
NA (2003)
Albania
15.8% officially; may be as high as 30% (2003 est.)
Algeria
26.2% (2003 est.)
American Samoa
6% (2000)
Andorra
0% (1996 est.)
Angola
extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.)
Anguilla
6.7% (2001)
Antigua and Barbuda
11% (2001 est.)
Argentina
17.3% (2003)
Armenia
20% (2001 est.)
Aruba
0.6% (2003 est.)
Australia
6% (2003)
Austria
4.4% (2003 est.)
Azerbaijan
1.1% (official rate is 1.2%) (2003 est.)
Bahamas, The
6.9% (2001 est.)
Bahrain
15% (1998 est.)
Bangladesh
40% (includes underemployment) (2002 est.)
Barbados
10.7% (2003 est.)
Belarus
2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers (2003 est.)
Belgium
8.1% (2003 est.)
Belize
9.1% (2002)
Benin
NA
Bermuda
5% (2002 est.)
Bhutan
NA
Bolivia
11.7%
note:
widespread underemployment (2003)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
40% (2002 est.)
Botswana
40% (official rate is 21%) (2001 est.)
Brazil
12.3% (2003 est.)
British Virgin Islands
3% (1995)
Brunei
10% (2001 est.)
Bulgaria
14.3% (2003)
Burkina Faso
NA
Burma
4.2% (2003)
Burundi
NA
Cambodia
2.5% (2000 est.)
Cameroon
30% (2001 est.)
Canada
7.8% (2003 est.)
Cape Verde
21% (2000 est.)
Cayman Islands
4.1% (1997)
Central African Republic
8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.)
Chad
NA (2000)
Chile
8.5% (2003 est.)
China
10.1% urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2003 est.)
Christmas Island
NA
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
60% (2000 est.)
Colombia
14.2% (2003 est.)
Comoros
20% (1996 est.)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
NA (2003 est.)
Congo, Republic of the
NA (2003)
Cook Islands
13% (1996)
Costa Rica
6.7% (2003 est.)
Cote d'Ivoire
13% in urban areas (1998)
Croatia
19.5% (2003)
Cuba
2.6% (2003 est.)
Cyprus
Greek Cypriot area: 3.4%; Turkish Cypriot area: 5.6% (2003 est.)
Czech Republic
9.9% (2003)
Denmark
6.1% (2003)
Djibouti
50% (2000 est.)
Dominica
23% (2000 est.)
Dominican Republic
16.5% (2003 est.)
East Timor
50% (including underemployment) (1992 est.)
Ecuador
9.8%; note - underemployment of 47% (2003 est.)
Egypt
9.9% (2003 est.)
El Salvador
6.5% - but the economy has much underemployment (2003 est.)
Equatorial Guinea
30% (1998 est.)
Eritrea
NA (2003 est.)
Estonia
10.1% (2003)
Ethiopia
NA (2002)
European Union
9.1% (2004 est.)
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
full employment; labor shortage (2001)
Faroe Islands
1% (October 2000)
Fiji
7.6% (1999)
Finland
9% (2003 est.)
France
9.7% (2003 est.)
French Guiana
22% (2001)
French Polynesia
11.8% (1994)
Gabon
21% (1997 est.)
Gambia, The
NA (2002 est.)
Gaza Strip
50% (includes West Bank) (2003 est.)
Georgia
17% (2001 est.)
Germany
10.5% (2003 est.)
Ghana
20% (1997 est.)
Gibraltar
2% (2001 est.)
Greece
9.4% (2003 est.)
Greenland
10% (2000 est.)
Grenada
12.5% (2000)
Guadeloupe
27.8% (1998)
Guam
15% (2000 est.)
Guatemala
7.5% (2003 est.)
Guernsey
0.5% (1999 est.)
Guinea
NA (2002 est.)
Guinea-Bissau
NA (1998)
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
27.5% (2003 est.)
Hong Kong
7.9% (2003)
Hungary
5.9% (2003 est.)
Iceland
3.4% (2003 est.)
India
9.5% (2003)
Indonesia
8.7% (2003 est.)
Iran
15.7% (2002 est.)
Iraq
NA (2003 est.)
Ireland
4.7% (2003 est.)
Israel
10.7% (2003 est.)
Italy
8.6% (2003 est.)
Jamaica
15.9% (2003 est.)
Japan
5.3% (2003)
Jersey
0.7% (1998 est.)
Jordan
16% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (2001 est.)
Kazakhstan
8.8% (2003 est.)
Kenya
40% (2001 est.)
Kiribati
2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)
Korea, North
NA (2003)
Korea, South
3.4% (2003 est.)
Kuwait
2.1% (2003 est.)
Kyrgyzstan
7.2% (1999 est.)
Laos
5.7% (1997 est.)
Latvia
8.6% (2003 est.)
Lebanon
18% (1997 est.)
Lesotho
45% (2002)
Liberia
85% (2003 est.)
Libya
30% (2001)
Liechtenstein
1.3% (September 2002)
Lithuania
10.3% (2003 est.)
Luxembourg
3.6% (2003 est.)
Macau
6.3% (2003)
Macedonia
36.7% (2003 est.)
Madagascar
5.9% (1998)
Malawi
NA (2003 est.)
Malaysia
3.6% (2003 est.)
Maldives
NEGL% (2003 est.)
Mali
14.6% urban areas; 5.3% rural areas (2001 est.)
Malta
7% (2003 est.)
Man, Isle of
0.7% (March 2003)
Marshall Islands
30.9% (1999 est.)
Martinique
27.2% (1998)
Mauritania
21% (1999 est.)
Mauritius
9.8% (2003 est.)
Mayotte
38% (1999)
Mexico
3.3% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2003)
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
4.6% (2001)
Montserrat
6% (1998 est.)
Morocco
19% (2003 est.)
Mozambique
21% (1997 est.)
Namibia
35% (1998)
Nauru
0% (2002 est.)
Nepal
47% (2001 est.)
Netherlands
5.3% (2003 est.)
Netherlands Antilles
15.6% (2002 est.)
New Caledonia
19% (1996)
New Zealand
4.7% (2003 est.)
Nicaragua
22% plus considerable underemployment (2003 est.)
Niger
NA (2002 est.)
Nigeria
NA (2003 est.)
Niue
NA (March 1999)
Norfolk Island
NA
Northern Mariana Islands
NA
Norway
4.7% (2003 est.)
Oman
NA
Pakistan
7.7% plus substantial underemployment (2003 est.)
Palau
2.3% (2000 est.)
Panama
13.8% (2003 est.)
Papua New Guinea
NA
Paraguay
18.5% (2003 est.)
Peru
9.7%; widespread underemployment (2003 est.)
Philippines
11.4% (2003)
Pitcairn Islands
NA
Poland
20% (2003)
Portugal
6.4% (2003 est.)
Puerto Rico
12% (2002)
Qatar
2.7% (2001)
Reunion
36% (1999 est.)
Romania
7.2% (2003)
Russia
8.5% plus considerable underemployment (2003 est.)
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% (2003)
Senegal
48% (urban youth 40%) (2001 est.)
Serbia and Montenegro
34.5% (2003 est.)
Seychelles
NA
Sierra Leone
NA
Singapore
4.8% (2003 est.)
Slovakia
15.2% (2003 est.)
Slovenia
11.2% (2003 est.)
Solomon Islands
NA
Somalia
NA
South Africa
31% (includes workers no longer looking for employment) (2003 est.)
Spain
11.3% (2003 est.)
Sri Lanka
8.4% (2003)
Sudan
18.7% (2002 est.)
Suriname
17% (2000)
Swaziland
34% (2000 est.)
Sweden
4.9% (2003 est.)
Switzerland
3.7% (2003 est.)
Syria
20% (2002 est.)
Taiwan
5% (2003 est.)
Tajikistan
40% (2002 est.)
Tanzania
NA
Thailand
2.2% (2003 est.)
Togo
NA (2003 est.)
Tokelau
NA
Tonga
13.3% (1996 est.)
Trinidad and Tobago
10.4% (2003)
Tunisia
14.3% (2003 est.)
Turkey
10.5% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2003 est.)
Turkmenistan
NA
Turks and Caicos Islands
10% (1997 est.)
Tuvalu
NA
Uganda
NA (2002 est.)
Ukraine
3.7% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (2003)
United Arab Emirates
2.4% (2001)
United Kingdom
5% (2003 est.)
United States
6% (2003)
Uruguay
16% (2003)
Uzbekistan
0.5% plus another 20% underemployed (2003)
Vanuatu
NA
Venezuela
18% (2003 est.)
Vietnam
6.1% (2003 est.)
Virgin Islands
9.3% (2003 est.)
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
35% (2003 est.)
Zambia
50% (2000 est.)
Zimbabwe
70% (2002 est.)
This page was last updated on 27 January, 2005