% of labor force · World Bank
Unemployment rate
Share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment. ILO modeled estimate.
Methodology & source
How this is measured.
Definition
Share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment. ILO modeled estimate.
Calculation
International Labour Organization modeled estimate, harmonised across countries.
Primary source
World Bank · SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS
License: CC BY 4.0
View source Caveats
Captures only those actively seeking work — does not reflect informal-sector under-employment, which dominates many African labour markets.
Cross the bridge
Behind the numbers, the country.
Numbers tell you the trajectory. Tourism shows you the people, the parks, the streets — the lives the data is measuring.
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Other indicators in this topic.
Continent average
9.0
% of labor force
Continental view
Africa, color-coded.
Hover or tap any country to see its rate.
% of labor force
0.45.934.2
Time series
How it's changed.
Continent average vs. Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa. Values in % of labor force.
Continent average
Nigeria
Kenya
South Africa
Biggest improvers
Largest gains since 2000
Niger↓ 75%
2008: 1.6 % of labor force2025: 0.4 % of labor force
Côte d'Ivoire↓ 63%
2007: 6.3 % of labor force2025: 2.3 % of labor force
Burundi↓ 62%
2007: 2.4 % of labor force2025: 0.9 % of labor force
Sudan↓ 52%
2007: 15.5 % of labor force2022: 7.5 % of labor force
Stalled or worse
Smallest gains, or moved the wrong way
Open the data
Every country, latest available value.
Sorted lowest to highest — lower is better. Click any country to open its dataset detail page.
Showing 20 of 53.
2007: 3.1 % of labor force2025: 6.6 % of labor force
Mali↑ 106%
2007: 1.4 % of labor force2025: 2.8 % of labor force
Kenya↑ 106%
2007: 2.6 % of labor force2025: 5.4 % of labor force
Zimbabwe↑ 86%
2007: 5.0 % of labor force2025: 9.3 % of labor force
Bulk download
Every country, every year — Unemployment rate.
All 1,000 data points for this indicator across all 54 African countries (1991–2025). Free for any non-commercial use; please cite World Bank.