Top 10 · work
Top 10 countries with the lowest unemployment
Unemployed share of the labour force. World Bank (ILO modelled) data, each country's latest year, 2021–2025, covering 178 countries.
The top 10
1st of 178 · 2025
Qatar0.1%
The other end · bottom 5 of 178
- 174thGabon20.2%
- 175thBotswana24.5%
- 176thDjibouti26%
- 177thSouth Africa32.4%
- 178thEswatini34.2%
Where the big countries land
- 68thUnited States4.2%
- 74thChina4.6%
- 69thIndia4.2%
- 61stGermany3.7%
- 106thBrazil6%
Common questions
Questions people ask about unemployment
Which country has the lowest unemployment?
Qatar ranks 1st of 178 countries at 0.1% (2025 data). Source: World Bank (ILO modelled).
Which countries are in the top 10 for unemployment?
The top 10 are Qatar, Cambodia, Niger, Thailand, Burundi, Chad, Bahrain, Laos, Solomon Islands and Moldova — computed from World Bank (ILO modelled) data, each country's latest year, 2021–2025.
Where does the United States rank in unemployment?
The United States ranks 68th of 178 countries at 4.2% (2025 data). Source: World Bank (ILO modelled).
What is the median unemployment worldwide?
Across the 178 countries covered, the median is 5.1%. Values run from 0.1% (Qatar, ranked 1st) to 34.2% (Eswatini, ranked 178th).
Is unemployment higher in Europe or the US?
The median across 40 European countries is 5.6%, against 4.2% in the United States — it is higher in Europe. Source: World Bank (ILO modelled).
Which country has the highest unemployment?
Eswatini sits at the other end of the list: 34.2% ranks 178th of 178 (2025 data). Source: World Bank (ILO modelled).
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More on work
- Paid maternity leaveStatutory paid leave available to mothers, in weeks.
- Statutory paid holidayStatutory minimum paid annual leave, in working days.
- Minimum wageStatutory hourly minimum wage, PPP-adjusted USD.
- Labor force participationShare of the adult population working or looking for work.
- Average wagesAverage monthly pay of employees, adjusted for price levels.
- Life expectancyPeriod life expectancy at birth.
Who leads the world
- Monacotops life expectancy86.5 years
- Singaporetops homicide rate0.1 per 100k
- Bulgariatops paid maternity leave59 weeks
Qatar leads on unemployment — see where it lands on every other measure, and which US state it most resembles.
From the blog: How reliable is World Bank data? · Census, BEA, CDC, BLS: why US state data is unusually good
All 68 measures →Every country ranked →Every US state →All the Top 10s →The overall board →How we read the data →