Where is unemployment highest?

Click any country to see the share of its labour force that is unemployed — people without work who are available for and seeking a job.

or click the map

Unemployment rate

0%10%30%+

No data

Global average

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Highest

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Lowest

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Overview

The unemployment rate is the share of the labour force that is out of work but actively looking. This map compares it across countries — though definitions and informal work make comparison imperfect.

Key facts

Rates range from under 1% to over 30%.
Unemployment is only part of the picture — many work informally or have given up looking.
Figures are ILO modelled estimates for comparability.

Common questions

What counts as unemployed?

People of working age who are without a job, available to work, and actively seeking employment. Those not looking are counted as outside the labour force, not unemployed.

Why compare with caution?

In countries with large informal economies, official unemployment can look low even where good jobs are scarce, so figures are not perfectly comparable.

Where does the data come from?

International Labour Organization modelled estimates and the World Bank, via Our World in Data.

Sources & methodology

Data from ILO / World Bank (via Our World in Data), compiled via Our World in Data. Global figures are population-weighted across the countries that report this measure; countries without reliable recent data are shown as “no data”.

Last updated: 3 August 2026.