Download data Indicators on unemployment Last update: December 2008 Adult (15+) unemployment rate Country or area Year Total   Men Women Source Afghanistan 2005 8 8   9   HS   Albania 2001 23 19   28   PC   Algeria 2004     18 18   18   HS   American Samoa 2000   a 5 5   6   PC   Anguilla 2002   b 8 6   10   HS   Antigua and Barbuda 2001 8 8   9   PC   Argentina 2006   c,d 9 8   12   HS   Armenia 2004 10 6   14   OE   Aruba 1997 8 7   8   HS   Australia 2007   b,e 4 4   5   HS   Austria 2007 4 4   5   MC   Azerbaijan 1999   a 16 14   19   PC   Bahamas 2007   b 8 7   9   HS   Bahrain 2001 6 4   10   PC   Bangladesh 2005   b 4 3   7   HS   Barbados 2004   b 10 9   11   HS   Belgium 2007 8 7   9   ELFS   Belize 2005   f 11 7   17   HS   Benin 2002 1 1   0   PC   Bermuda 2000 3 3   2   PC   Bhutan 2005 3 3   3   PC   Bolivia 2002 5 4   7   HS   Bosnia and Herzegovina 2006 31 29   35   HS   Botswana 2006   b,g 18 15   20   HS   Brazil 2004 9 7   12   HS   British Virgin Islands 1991 4 4   3   PC   Brunei Darussalam 1991 5 4   7   PC   Bulgaria 2006 9 9   9   HS   Burkina Faso 1998   b,c 2 2   3   HS   Burundi 1990 0 1   0   PC   Cambodia 2001 2 1   2   HS   Cameroon 2001 7 8   7   HS   Canada 2007   b,h 6 6   6   HS   Cape Verde 1990 23 23   23   PC   Cayman Islands 2007 4 3   4   HS   Chad 1993   i 1 1   0   PC   Chile 2006   l 6 5   7   HS   China 2005 4 …   …   HS   China, Hong Kong SAR 2007   b,j 4 5   3   HS   China, Macao SAR 2007   b,f 3 3   3   HS   Colombia 2007   b,c 11 9   14   HS   Comoros 1991   g 20 21   17   PC   Cook Islands 1991 7 6   10   PC   Costa Rica 2007   g 5 3   7   HS   Croatia 2007   l 10 8   11   HS   Cuba 2006   hh 2 2   2   HS   Cyprus 2007   l,m 5 4   7   HS   Czech Republic 2007 5 4   7   HS   Denmark 2007 4 3   4   ELFS   Djibouti 1991 44 42   47   HS   Dominica 2001 11 12   10   PC   Dominican Republic 2005   c 18 11   29   HS   Ecuador 2005   c,d 8 6   11   HS   Egypt 2005   b,i 11 7   25   HS   El Salvador 2006   c 7 8   4   HS   Equatorial Guinea 1983   o 24 27   19   PC   Estonia 2007   p,l 5 5   4   HS   Ethiopia 2005   b 5 3   8   HS   Faeroe Islands 2005   a 3 3   4   HS   Fiji 2005   q 5 4   6   HS   Finland 2007 7 6   7   HS   France 2007   r 8 7   9   HS   French Guiana 2006 29 24   35   HS   Gabon 1993 18 19   16   PC   Georgia 2007   s 13 14   13   HS   Germany 2007 9 9   9   MC   Ghana 1999 10 9   11   HS   Greece 2007 8 5   13   ELFS   Greenland 2006 8 10   7   OE   Grenada 1998   l 15 11   22   HS   Guadeloupe 2006 27 24   31   HS   Guam 2000   b 11 11   12   PC   Guatemala 2004   b,c 3 3   4   HS   Guyana 2002 12 10   15   PC   Haiti 1999 7 6   8   HS   Honduras 2005   b,t 4 3   6   HS   Hungary 2007 7 7   8   HS   Iceland 2007   a 2 2   2   HS   India 2004   u 5 5   5   HS   Indonesia 2007 9 8   11   HS   Iran, Islamic Republic 2007   c 11 9   16   HS   Iraq 2004 11 10   13   HS   Ireland 2007 5 5   4   HS   Isle of Man 2006 2 3   2   PC   Israel 2007   b 7 7   8   HS   Italy 2007 6 5   8   HS   Jamaica 2007   b,f 9 5   14   HS   Japan 2007 4 4   4   HS   Jordan 2004 12 12   16   HS   Kazakhstan 2004 8 7   10   HS   Kyrgyzstan 2006 8 8   9   HS   Lao People's Democratic Republic 2005 1 1   1   PC   Latvia 2007   p,l 6 6   5   HS   Lesotho 1999 27 21   33   HS   Liberia 2007 6 7   4   HS   Lithuania 2007   l 4 4   4   HS   Luxembourg 2007 4 4   4   ELFS   Madagascar 2005   b 3 2   3   HS   Malawi 2004 8 5   10   HS   Malaysia 2007   b,i 3 3   3   HS   Maldives 2006   l 14 8   24   PC   Mali 2004 9 7   11   HS   Malta 2007 6 5   7   HS   Marshall Islands 1999 31 28   37   PC   Martinique 2006 25 23   27   HS   Mauritania 2000   c 21 9   41   OE   Mauritius 2007   a,b 9 5   14   HS   Mexico 2007 3 3   4   HS   Monaco 2000   v 4 3   5   PC   Mongolia 2003   b 14 14   14   HS   Montenegro 2005   i 30 26   36   HS   Morocco 2007 10 10   10   HS   Mozambique 1997   w 2 3   1   PC   Myanmar 1990   c 6 5   9   HS   Namibia 2004 22 19   25   HS   Nepal 2001   c 9 7   11   PC   Netherlands 2007 4 3   4   HS   Netherlands Antilles 2007 12 10   14   HS   New Caledonia 1996   f 19 16   22   PC   New Zealand 2007   b,x 4 3   4   HS   Nicaragua 2006   c 5 5   5   HS   Niger 2001 1 2   1   PC   Nigeria 1986   b 4 4   4   HS   Northern Mariana Islands 2003   a 5 5   4   HS   Norway 2007   a 2 3   2   HS   Occupied Palestinian Territory 2007 22 22   19   HS   Pakistan 2007   b,c 5 5   8   HS   Panama 2007 7 5   9   HS   Papua New Guinea 2000   c 3 4   1   PC   Paraguay 2007   b 6 4   8   HS   Peru 2007   b,l 7 6   8   HS   Philippines 2007   s 6 6   6   HS   Poland 2007 10 9   10   HS   Portugal 2007 8 7   10   HS   Puerto Rico 2007   a,b 11 12   10   HS   Qatar 2001 4 2   13   HS   Republic of Korea 2007   b 3 4   3   HS   Republic of Moldova 2007 5 6   4   HS   Reunion 2006 29 28   30   HS   Romania 2007 6 7   5   HS   Russian Federation 2007   z 6 6   6   HS   Rwanda 1996   i 1 1   0   HS   Saint Lucia 2004 21 17   25   HS   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1991 20 18   22   PC   Samoa 2001 5 4   6   HS   Sao Tome and Principe 2006 17 11   25   OE   Saudi Arabia 2007 6 4   13   HS   Serbia 2007 18 16   21   HS   Seychelles 2005   b 5 6   5   HS   Sierra Leone 2004 3 5   2   PC   Singapore 2007   bb 4 4   4   HS   Slovakia 2007 11 10   13   HS   Slovenia 2007   e,l 5 4   6   HS   Solomon Islands 1999 32 31   34   PC   South Africa 2007 23 20   27   HS   Spain 2007   a 8 6   11   HS   Sri Lanka 2007   b,cc 6 4   9   HS   St. Helena 1998   dd 18 20   15   PC   Suriname 1999 13 10   20   HS   Swaziland 1997 23 20   26   PC   Sweden 2007   a 6 6   6   HS   Switzerland 2007 4 3   5   HS   Syrian Arab Republic 2003   b 10 8   21   HS   TFYR of Macedonia 2007   b 35 35   36   HS   Thailand 2007   b 1 1   1   HS   Tonga 2003   b 5 4   7   HS   Trinidad and Tobago 2007 7 4   10   HS   Tunisia 2005 14 13   17   HS   Turkey 2007   b 10 10   10   HS   Uganda 2003   c 3 3   4   HS   Ukraine 2006   q 7 7   7   HS   United Arab Emirates 2005   o 3 3   7   PC   United Kingdom 2007   a 5 6   5   HS   United Republic of Tanzania 2001   c,ii 5 4   6   HS   United States 2007   a,b,ff 5 5   5   HS   Uruguay 2007   f,l 9 7   12   HS   Venezuela 2007   b 7 7   8   HS   Viet Nam 2004 2 2   2   HS   Yemen 1999 12 13   8   HS   Zambia 2000   g,gg 13 14   11   PC   Zimbabwe 2004 4 4   4   HS

Sources:

International Labour Office, Table 8a. Unemployment (LFS), published in Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM) Fifth Edition, CD-ROM version (ISBN 978-92-2-020137-4). Also available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/kilm/ (accessed December 2008).

Footnotes:

The adult unemployment rate refers to the proportion of the adult (aged 15 years and older) labour force that is unemployed, unless otherwise specified. The unemployed are persons who are currently without work, who are currently available for work, and who are seeking or have sought work recently. The base for these statistics is the labour force (that is, the economically active portion of the population), not the total population.

The International Conference of Labour Statisticians adopted the following definition of the unemployed as an international recommendation in 1982: All persons who during the reference period were: (1) "without work", that is, were not in paid employment or self-employment as specified by the international definition of employment; (2) "currently available for work", that is, were available for paid employment or self-employment during the reference period; or (3) "seeking work", that is, had taken specific steps in a specified recent period to seek paid employment or self-employment.

National definitions of unemployment may differ from the recommended international standard definition. The national definitions used vary from one country to another as regards inter alia age limits, reference periods, criteria for seeking work, treatment of persons temporarily laid off and of persons seeking work for the first time. Inter-country comparisons are further hampered by the variety of types of source used to obtain information on unemployment and the differences in the scope and coverage of such sources.