- International›
- Other›
Countries with the highest unemployment rate
Countries with the highest unemployment rate
The 20 countries with the highest unemployment rate in 2017
by H. Plecher,
last edited
Aug 9, 2019
In 2017, Burkina Faso had the highest unemployment rate in the world, at 77 percent. This means that for every 100 members of the workforce, 77 did not have jobs at the time of the survey. Of the 20 countries in this statistic, each had a ratio of more than 1 in 4 workers without a job.
What exactly is unemployment?
The unemployment rate is the number of people in the workforce divided by the number of people looking for jobs but not working. This number does not include students and retirees, because they are not looking for work. It also does not include people who have given up on finding a job, called discouraged workers. Youth unemployment can be particularly troubling because a gap in employment early in a person’s career leads to lower wages for that person’s entire life.
Causes of unemployment in less developed countries
A major driver in unemployment in these countries is conflict. In particular, internally displaced persons (IDPs) want to work, but moving to another part of the country disrupts their business network and moves them into a local economy with different labor demand. Countries with low levels of economic development, as roughly indicated by a low GDP per capita, often have fewer labor market opportunities, leading to high unemployment rates.
The 20 countries with the highest unemployment rate in 2017
Loading statistic...
Expand statistic
| Unemployment rate | |
|---|---|
| Burkina Faso | 77% |
| Syria | 50% |
| Senegal | 48% |
| Haiti | 40.6% |
| Kenya | 40% |
| Djibouti | 40% |
| Marshall Islands | 36% |
| Republic of the Congo | 36% |
| Namibia | 34% |
| Kiribati | 30.6% |
| Kosovo | 30.5% |
| Libya | 30% |
| American Samoa | 29.8% |
| Lesotho | 28.1% |
| Eswatini | 28% |
| Gabon | 28% |
| South Africa | 27.6% |
| Yemen | 27% |
| Gaza Strip | 26.7% |
| West Bank | 26.7% |
| Unemployment rate | |
|---|---|
| Burkina Faso | 77% |
| Syria | 50% |
| Senegal | 48% |
| Haiti | 40.6% |
| Kenya | 40% |
| Djibouti | 40% |
| Marshall Islands | 36% |
| Republic of the Congo | 36% |
| Namibia | 34% |
| Kiribati | 30.6% |
| Kosovo | 30.5% |
| Libya | 30% |
| American Samoa | 29.8% |
| Lesotho | 28.1% |
| Eswatini | 28% |
| Gabon | 28% |
| South Africa | 27.6% |
| Yemen | 27% |
| Gaza Strip | 26.7% |
| West Bank | 26.7% |
© Statista 2019
About this statistic
Show source
Download
Settings
Share
Download started
Please be patient - this may take a moment
Please be patient - this may take a moment
Description
Source
More information
by H. Plecher,
last edited
Aug 9, 2019
In 2017, Burkina Faso had the highest unemployment rate in the world, at 77 percent. This means that for every 100 members of the workforce, 77 did not have jobs at the time of the survey. Of the 20 countries in this statistic, each had a ratio of more than 1 in 4 workers without a job.
What exactly is unemployment?
The unemployment rate is the number of people in the workforce divided by the number of people looking for jobs but not working. This number does not include students and retirees, because they are not looking for work. It also does not include people who have given up on finding a job, called discouraged workers. Youth unemployment can be particularly troubling because a gap in employment early in a person’s career leads to lower wages for that person’s entire life.
Causes of unemployment in less developed countries
A major driver in unemployment in these countries is conflict. In particular, internally displaced persons (IDPs) want to work, but moving to another part of the country disrupts their business network and moves them into a local economy with different labor demand. Countries with low levels of economic development, as roughly indicated by a low GDP per capita, often have fewer labor market opportunities, leading to high unemployment rates.
- Show sources information
- Show publisher information
- Release date
- 2019
- Region
- Worldwide
- Survey time period
- 2017
- Supplementary notes
- The periods during which the data were collected vary considerably. See source for more detailed information. The source shows variation in collection periods because in some cases no continuous survey was carried out. The data are predominantly estimations.
Free access to basic statistics
Source
- Show sources information
- Show publisher information
- Release date
- 2019
More information
- Region
- Worldwide
- Survey time period
- 2017
- Supplementary notes
- The periods during which the data were collected vary considerably. See source for more detailed information. The source shows variation in collection periods because in some cases no continuous survey was carried out. The data are predominantly estimations.
Statista Accounts:
Access All Statistics. Starting from $588 / Year
Basic Account
Get to know the platform
You only have access to basic statistics.
Premium Account
Your perfect start with Statista
- Instant access to 1m statistics
- Download in XLS, PDF & PNG format
- Detailed references
$49 / Month *
Corporate Account
Full access
Corporate solution including all features.
* All products require an annual contract.
Prices do not include sales tax.
Prices do not include sales tax.
Leading companies trust Statista:
Related Studies: Available to Download in PDF or PPTX Format
All Information
in one Presentation
Global economy
- 106 page/s
- English
- pptx
- Detailed references
Everything On "Global economy" in One Document: Edited and Divided into Handy Chapters. Including Detailed References.
Statista has been my savior on several occasions. The site is easy to maneuver and the data is in a format that can go right into a report or presentation.Marlene Greenfield
Vice President, Hearst Magazines
Statistics on "Global economy"
- Gross domestic product and economic growth
The most important statistics
- Global gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices from 2014 to 2024 (in billion U.S. dollars)Global gross domestic product (GDP) 2024
- Gross domestic product (GDP) of selected global regions at current prices in 2018 (in trillion U.S. dollars)Gross domestic product (GDP) of selected global regions 2018
- Gross domestic product (GDP) of the main industrialized and emerging countries in current prices in 2018 (in trillion U.S. dollars)GDP of the main industrialized and emerging countries 2018
- The 20 countries with the largest gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)Countries with the largest gross domestic product (GDP) 2017
- The 15 countries with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in 2030 (in billion U.S. dollars)Countries with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) 2030 - forecast
- Share of global regions in the gross domestic product (adjusted for purchasing power) in 2018Share of global regions in the gross domestic product 2018
- Share of the main industrialized and emerging countries in the gross domestic product (adjusted for purchasing power) in 2018Share of the main industrialized and emerging countries in the GDP 2018
- The 20 countries with the largest proportion of the global gross domestic product (GDP) based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 2017Countries with the largest proportion of global gross domestic product (GDP) 2017
- Unemployment
The most important statistics
- Number of unemployed persons worldwide from 2010 to 2017 and projections until 2020 (in millions)Unemployed persons worldwide until 2020
- Global unemployment rate from 2008 to 2018Global unemployment rate up to 2018
- Number of unemployed persons in selected world regions in 2018 and 2019, up to 2020 (in millions)Unemployed persons in selected world regions 2020
- Unemployment rate in selected world regions between 2015 and 2018Unemployment rate in selected world regions 2018
- Unemployment rates in major industrial and emerging countries in 2017Unemployment rates in major industrial and emerging countries 2017
- The 20 countries with the highest unemployment rate in 2017Countries with the highest unemployment rate
- Number of young unemployed people worldwide from 2009 to 2014 up to 2019 (in millions)Number of young unemployed people worldwide until 2019
- Global youth unemployment rate from 2009 to 2014 with a forecast up to 2019Global youth unemployment rate until 2019
- Inflation
The most important statistics
- Global inflation rate from 2014 to 2024 (compared to previous year)Global inflation rate from 2014 to 2024
- Inflation rate in selected global regions in 2018 (compared to previous year)Inflation rate in selected global regions in 2018
- Inflation rate of the main industrialized and emerging countries in 2018 (compared to previous year)Inflation rate of the main industrialized and emerging countries 2018
- The 20 countries with the highest inflation rate in 2018 (compared to the previous year)Countries with the highest inflation rate 2018
- The 20 countries with the lowest inflation rate in 2018 (compared to the previous year)Countries with the lowest inflation rate 2018
- Global trade
The most important statistics
- Top 20 export countries worldwide in 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)Leading export countries worldwide 2017
- Leading import countries worldwide in 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)Leading import countries worldwide 2017
- The 20 countries with the highest trade surplus in 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)The 20 countries with the highest trade surplus in 2017
- The 20 countries with the highest trade balance deficit in 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)The 20 countries with the highest trade balance deficit in 2017
- Trends in global export volume of trade in goods from 1950 to 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)Trade: export volume worldwide 1950-2017
- Global economic indicators
The most important statistics
- The 20 countries with the highest population growth rate in 2017 (compared to the previous year)Countries with the highest population growth rate 2017
- Growth of the real gross domestic product (GDP) in the leading industrial and emerging countries from 1st quarter 2017 to 1st quarter 2019 (compared to the previous quarter)GDP growth in the leading industrial and emerging countries 1st quarter 2019
- Unemployment rate in the leading industrial and emerging countries from May 2018 to May 2019Monthly unemployment rate in industrial and emerging countries May 2019
- Inflation rate in the main industrial and emerging markets from May 2018 to May 2019 (compared to the same month of the previous year)Monthly inflation rate in industrial and emerging markets 2019
- Global Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) of the industrial sector from June 2018 to June 2019 (50 = no change)Global Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) of the industrial sector June 2019
- ifo World Economic Climate Index from 2nd quarter 2017 to 2nd quarter 2019 (base year 2005 = 100)ifo World Economic Climate Index 2nd quarter 2019
- Consumer confidence worldwide from Q4 2014 to Q4 2016 (100 = neutral)Consumer confidence worldwide from Q4 2014 to Q4 2016
Discover Statista
Need help with using Statista for your research?
Tutorials and first steps
Further Content: Statistics, Studies, and Topic Pages
Statistics
- Monthly unemployment rate in the United Kingdom May 2019
- Monthly unemployment rate in the EU and Euro area May 2019
- Monthly unemployment rate in Russia May 2019
- Unemployment rate in Maldives 2018
- Latin America & Caribbean: unemployment rate 2019-2024, by country
- U.S. unemployment rate: unadjusted, August 2019
- Brazil: monthly unemployment rate 2017-2019
- Quarterly unemployment rate in France 1st quarter 2019
- Monthly unemployment rate in Japan June 2019
- Number of long-term unemployed persons aged 35-44 years in Finland 2007-2017
- Monthly number of long-term unemployed persons aged 25-34 years in Finland 2017-2018
- Monthly number of repeatedly unemployed persons aged 45-54 years in Finland 2017-2018
- Underemployed persons aged 45-54 years in Finland 2007-2017
- Share of persons aged 25 to 34 years in disguised unemployment in Finland 2007-2017
- Changes in the health of people during unemployment period in France 2018
- Preferred leisure activities of unemployed professionals in Mexico in 2017
- PC keyboard market revenue worldwide* 2016-2021
- Perception that running shoes improve performance by consumers worldwide 2017
- IT services and software - market volume
Studies
Statistics on "Global economy"
- Global gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices from 2014 to 2024 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Gross domestic product (GDP) of selected global regions at current prices in 2018 (in trillion U.S. dollars)
- Gross domestic product (GDP) of the main industrialized and emerging countries in current prices in 2018 (in trillion U.S. dollars)
- The 20 countries with the largest gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- The 15 countries with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in 2030 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Share of global regions in the gross domestic product (adjusted for purchasing power) in 2018
- Share of the main industrialized and emerging countries in the gross domestic product (adjusted for purchasing power) in 2018
- The 20 countries with the largest proportion of the global gross domestic product (GDP) based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 2017
- Global gross domestic product (GDP) per capita from 2008 to 2018, at current prices (in U.S. dollars)
- Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in selected global regions at current prices in 2018 (in U.S. dollars)
- Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the main industrialized and emerging countries in current prices in 2018 (in U.S. dollars)
- The 20 countries with the largest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 2017 (in U.S. dollars)
- The 20 countries with the lowest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 2017 (in U.S. dollars)
- Growth of the global gross domestic product (GDP) from 2014 to 2024 (compared to the previous year)
- Growth of the real gross domestic product (GDP) in selected world regions from 2014 to 2024 (compared to the previous year)
- Growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) in selected countries from 2014 to 2024 (compared to the previous year)
- The 20 countries with the highest growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017 (compared to the previous year)
- The 20 countries with the greatest decrease of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017 (compared to the previous year)
- Share of economic sectors in the global gross domestic product (GDP) from 2007 to 2017
- Share of economic sectors in the gross domestic product (GDP) of selected global regions in 2017
- Proportions of economic sectors in the gross domestic product (GDP) in selected countries in 2017
- Number of unemployed persons worldwide from 2010 to 2017 and projections until 2020 (in millions)
- Global unemployment rate from 2008 to 2018
- Number of unemployed persons in selected world regions in 2018 and 2019, up to 2020 (in millions)
- Unemployment rate in selected world regions between 2015 and 2018
- Unemployment rates in major industrial and emerging countries in 2017
- The 20 countries with the highest unemployment rate in 2017
- Number of young unemployed people worldwide from 2009 to 2014 up to 2019 (in millions)
- Global youth unemployment rate from 2009 to 2014 with a forecast up to 2019
- Youth unemployment rate in selected world regions in 2014 to 2018
- Global inflation rate from 2014 to 2024 (compared to previous year)
- Inflation rate in selected global regions in 2018 (compared to previous year)
- Inflation rate of the main industrialized and emerging countries in 2018 (compared to previous year)
- The 20 countries with the highest inflation rate in 2018 (compared to the previous year)
- The 20 countries with the lowest inflation rate in 2018 (compared to the previous year)
- Top 20 export countries worldwide in 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Leading import countries worldwide in 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- The 20 countries with the highest trade surplus in 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- The 20 countries with the highest trade balance deficit in 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Trends in global export volume of trade in goods from 1950 to 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- The 20 countries with the highest population growth rate in 2017 (compared to the previous year)
- Growth of the real gross domestic product (GDP) in the leading industrial and emerging countries from 1st quarter 2017 to 1st quarter 2019 (compared to the previous quarter)
- Unemployment rate in the leading industrial and emerging countries from May 2018 to May 2019
- Inflation rate in the main industrial and emerging markets from May 2018 to May 2019 (compared to the same month of the previous year)
- Global Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) of the industrial sector from June 2018 to June 2019 (50 = no change)
- ifo World Economic Climate Index from 2nd quarter 2017 to 2nd quarter 2019 (base year 2005 = 100)
- Consumer confidence worldwide from Q4 2014 to Q4 2016 (100 = neutral)
- United Kingdom: Unemployment rate from May 2018 to May 2019 (seasonally adjusted)
- Unemployment rate in the European Union and the Euro area from May 2018 to May 2019 (seasonally adjusted)
- Russia: Unemployment rate from May 2018 to May 2019
- Maldives: Unemployment rate from 2008 to 2018
- Unemployment rate in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2019 and 2024, by country
- Monthly unemployment rate in the United States from August 2018 to August 2019 (not seasonally adjusted)
- Unemployment rate in Brazil from January 2017 to May 2019
- France: Unemployment rate from 1st quarter 2017 to 1st quarter 2019 (seasonally adjusted)
- Japan: Unemployment rate from June 2018 to June 2019 (seasonally adjusted)
- Annual number of long-term unemployed persons in the age group 35 to 44 years in Finland from 2007 to 2017
- Monthly number of long-term unemployed persons aged 25 to 34 years in Finland from September 2017 to September 2018
- Monthly number of repeatedly unemployed persons aged 45 to 54 years in Finland from October 2017 to October 2018
- Share of underemployed persons in the age group 45 to 54 years in Finland from 2007 to 2017*
- Share of persons in disguised unemployment in the age group from 25 to 34 years in Finland from 2007 to 2017
- What impact did your job search have on your health? *
- Most common leisure activities for unemployed professionals in Mexico in 2017
- PC keyboard market revenue worldwide* from 2016 to 2021 (in million U.S. Dollars)*
- Do you believe that some running shoes can help you improve your performance?
- Global market for IT services and software from 2008 to 2010 (in million euros)
Statista Accounts:
Access All Statistics. Starting from $588 / Year
Related topics
About Statista
Statista offers dossiers and reports on over 170 industries. With Statista you are always able to make informed decisions and boost your work efficiency.
Internet & Telecommunications
- Social Media
- E-Commerce
- Online Video & Entertainment
- Advertising & Marketing
Consumer Goods & FMCG
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Cleaning Products
- Cosmetics & Personal Care
- Food & Nutrition
Retail & Trade
- Health & Hygiene
- International Trade
- Shopping Behavior
- Sports & Leisure
Travel, Tourism & Hospitality
- Business Travel
- Leisure Travel
- Accomodation
- Restaurants
Society
- Demographics
- Economy
- Education & Science
- Politics & Government
Transportation & Logistics
- Aviation
- Rail Transport
- Vehicles & Road Traffic
- Water Transport
Please log in to access our additional functions
Register in seconds and access exclusive features.
Basic Account
|
Instant Access
Premium Account
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
Our services
Click the question mark for further information | Free |
$49 per month*
| |
| Basic statistics | |||
| Premium statistics | |||
|
Graph download
| |||
| Download PDF | |||
|
Excel download
| |||
| Register | Purchase now | ||
*Duration: 12 months, billed annually, single license
Yes, let me download!
...and make my research life easier.
Exclusive Corporate feature
This feature is limited to our corporate solutions.
Please contact us to get started with full access to dossiers, forecasts, studies and international data.
Corporate Account
We use cookies to personalize contents and ads, offer social media features, and analyze access to our website. In your browser settings you can configure or disable this, respectively, and can delete any already placed cookies. For details, please see your browser’s Help section (by pressing F1). Please see our privacy statement for details about how we use data.