Data for 2017
Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4), 2017
2017, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten
The unemployment rate counts only people who are actively looking for work and could start at once. This broader rate also counts people working fewer hours than they want and people who want a job but have stopped looking or cannot start yet — the International Labour Organization’s widest measure of work people want and do not have.
Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4), 2017 covers 77 countries on 3 measures. Rwanda is highest, at 40.53; Thailand is lowest, at 2.01. The middle country reads 14.10. Against 2016, 61 values changed (10 up, 51 down), 16 countries joined, 6 left.
Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4) · Data for 2017
HighestRwanda
40.53
LowestThailand
2.01Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the lowest end.
01Position · derived
The table
Every country and every column of Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4), 2017, as published. ILO ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.
Showing 25 of 77 countries · select a heading to sort
| derived | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RwandaRWAEastern Africa | 40.53 | 45.902 | 34.826 | Break in series |
| 2 |  South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa | 39.50 | 44.062 | 35.493 | — |
| 3 |  ArmeniaARMWestern Asia | 37.36 | 40.985 | 33.715 | — |
| 4 |  NepalNPLSouthern Asia | 36.37 | 45.259 | 29.342 | Break in series |
| 5 |  AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia | 35.54 | 50.544 | 30.101 | — |
| 6 |  PalestinePSEWestern Asia | 32.89 | 55.386 | 26.309 | — |
| 7 |  Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe | 32.51 | 37.537 | 28.992 | — |
| 8 |  SenegalSENWestern Africa | 29.65 | 41.039 | 17.317 | — |
| 9 |  GreeceGRCSouthern Europe | 29.57 | 36.374 | 23.969 | — |
| 10 |  AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe | 28.73 | 30.015 | 27.699 | — |
| 11 |  North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe | 28.37 | 29.062 | 27.907 | — |
| 12 |  SpainESPSouthern Europe | 27.16 | 32.550 | 22.336 | — |
| 13 |  New CaledoniaNCLMelanesia | 27.11 | 33.350 | 21.706 | — |
| 14 |  SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe | 26.45 | 27.609 | 25.498 | — |
| 15 |  MontenegroMNESouthern Europe | 25.31 | 27.325 | 23.653 | — |
| 16 |  ChileCHLSouth America | 24.73 | 29.480 | 21.056 | Break in series |
| 17 |  MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa | 24.63 | 29.492 | 21.343 | — |
| 18 |  JordanJORWestern Asia | 24.49 | 39.252 | 20.126 | Break in series |
| 19 |  Costa RicaCRICentral America | 24.40 | 32.596 | 18.520 | — |
| 20 |  ItalyITASouthern Europe | 23.79 | 28.334 | 20.174 | — |
| 21 |  BrazilBRASouth America | 23.61 | 28.330 | 19.798 | — |
| 22 |  CyprusCYPWestern Asia | 23.59 | 24.424 | 22.808 | — |
| 23 |  FranceFRAWestern Europe | 19.99 | 22.292 | 17.834 | — |
| 24 |  CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe | 19.82 | 22.627 | 17.212 | — |
| 25 |  FinlandFINNorthern Europe | 19.55 | 20.027 | 19.109 | — |
| 26 |  PortugalPRTSouthern Europe | 19.20 | 21.132 | 17.326 | — |
| 27 |  UruguayURYSouth America | 19.08 | 22.491 | 16.110 | — |
| 28 |  ZambiaZMBEastern Africa | 18.83 | 21.001 | 16.780 | Break in series |
| 29 |  BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia | 17.93 | 19.785 | 16.393 | — |
| 30 |  UgandaUGAEastern Africa | 17.52 | 18.473 | 16.548 | Break in series |
| 31 |  SamoaWSMPolynesia | 16.09 | 24.693 | 10.453 | Break in series |
| 32 |  ColombiaCOLSouth America | 15.95 | 20.833 | 12.265 | — |
| 33 |  Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean | 15.94 | 22.102 | 11.390 | — |
| 34 |  LatviaLVANorthern Europe | 15.41 | 15.432 | 15.381 | — |
| 35 |  IrelandIRLNorthern Europe | 15.19 | 16.118 | 14.393 | — |
| 36 |  El SalvadorSLVCentral America | 14.89 | 14.448 | 15.188 | — |
| 37 |  LiberiaLBRWestern Africa | 14.78 | 15.805 | 13.744 | Break in series |
| 38 |  SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe | 14.18 | 15.863 | 12.708 | — |
| 39 |  NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe | 14.10 | 17.082 | 11.468 | — |
| 40 |  BarbadosBRBCaribbean | 13.71 | 14.027 | 13.404 | — |
| 41 |  IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia | 13.45 | 16.841 | 11.111 | — |
| 42 |  Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa | 13.44 | 17.691 | 10.399 | — |
| 43 |  AustriaAUTWestern Europe | 13.22 | 14.659 | 11.943 | — |
| 44 |  LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe | 13.12 | 15.184 | 11.297 | — |
| 45 |  PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia | 13.01 | 12.252 | 13.473 | — |
| 46 |  DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe | 12.79 | 13.804 | 11.880 | — |
| 47 |  BelgiumBELWestern Europe | 12.65 | 13.756 | 11.695 | — |
| 48 |  TogoTGOWestern Africa | 12.64 | 13.503 | 11.686 | Break in series |
| 49 |  BelizeBLZCentral America | 12.53 | 18.815 | 8.456 | — |
| 50 |  SwedenSWENorthern Europe | 12.37 | 13.015 | 11.785 | — |
| 51 |  LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia | 12.27 | 10.224 | 14.108 | Break in series |
| 52 |  United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe | 12.20 | 13.910 | 10.676 | — |
| 53 |  SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe | 11.40 | 12.142 | 10.787 | — |
| 54 |  MauritiusMUSEastern Africa | 11.37 | 14.226 | 9.511 | — |
| 55 |  BulgariaBGREastern Europe | 11.10 | 11.117 | 11.092 | — |
| 56 |  EstoniaESTNorthern Europe | 11.01 | 10.974 | 11.044 | — |
| 57 |  PanamaPANCentral America | 10.84 | 12.383 | 9.761 | — |
| 58 |  IcelandISLNorthern Europe | 10.25 | 12.320 | 8.425 | — |
| 59 |  RomaniaROUEastern Europe | 10.12 | 9.724 | 10.424 | — |
| 60 |  LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe | 9.96 | 8.719 | 11.218 | — |
| 61 |  NorwayNORNorthern Europe | 9.50 | 10.306 | 8.772 | — |
| 62 |  GermanyDEUWestern Europe | 9.20 | 10.213 | 8.317 | — |
| 63 |  BelarusBLREastern Europe | 9.17 | 7.619 | 10.692 | — |
| 64 |  BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia | 8.95 | 14.448 | 6.294 | — |
| 65 |  CanadaCANNorthern America | 8.72 | 8.662 | 8.761 | — |
| 66 |  PolandPOLEastern Europe | 8.65 | 9.714 | 7.764 | — |
| 67 |  BoliviaBOLSouth America | 8.59 | 10.503 | 7.053 | — |
| 68 |  GuatemalaGTMCentral America | 8.48 | 12.741 | 6.289 | — |
| 69 |  Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia | 8.47 | 13.070 | 5.753 | — |
| 70 |  HungaryHUNEastern Europe | 7.71 | 8.738 | 6.844 | — |
| 71 |  KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia | 7.42 | 8.800 | 6.572 | — |
| 72 |  MaltaMLTSouthern Europe | 7.12 | 8.084 | 6.466 | — |
| 73 |  United StatesUSANorthern America | 5.99 | 5.899 | 6.072 | — |
| 74 |  MoldovaMDAEastern Europe | 5.43 | 4.035 | 6.965 | — |
| 75 |  CzechiaCZEEastern Europe | 4.19 | 5.444 | 3.176 | — |
| 76 |  VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia | 3.97 | 3.980 | 3.964 | — |
| 77 | ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia | 2.01 | 1.829 | 2.159 | — |
02In 2017
At either end
The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.
Highest
- 1Rwanda40.53
- 2South Africa39.50
- 3Armenia37.36
- 4Nepal36.37
- 5Afghanistan35.54
Lowest
- 77Thailand2.01
- 76Vietnam3.97
- 75Czechia4.19
- 74Moldova5.43
- 73United States5.99
A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 14.10. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.
Each measure’s ends
Women (%)
Highest
Palestine55.386Lowest
Thailand1.829Middle country: 15.863
Men (%)
Highest
South Africa35.493Lowest
Thailand2.159Middle country: 12.265
032016 → 2017
Since 2016
- +16 / −6countries joined / left
- 61values changed, of 61 in both
- 10 · 51rose · fell
- 0unchanged
Rose most
Fell most
- Côte d’Ivoire20.48 → 13.44−7.04
- Bosnia and Herzegovina37.40 → 32.51−4.89
- Albania33.37 → 28.73−4.63
- Croatia23.95 → 19.82−4.13
- Serbia30.07 → 26.45−3.62
+ Afghanistan+ Bangladesh+ Belarus+ Brunei+ Jordan+ Laos+ Liberia+ Mauritania+ New Caledonia+ Nepal+ Philippines+ Rwanda+ Togo+ Uganda+ Samoa+ Zambia
− Cook Islands
− Maldives
− Paraguay
− Suriname
− Eswatini
− Seychelles04Caveats
Read before you use
One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from ILO’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method, so a change from one year to the next is not a revision. It can differ from what was first published for 2017.
67 empty cells
An empty cell means the publisher gave no figure. It is never a zero.
Some readings carry a flag
ILO marks readings it considers estimates or provisional. The flags in this file: Break in series.
05The files
Download and cite
- .csv
For a spreadsheet or code
77 rows · 4.1 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download labour-underutilisation-2017-nations-inquiry.csv - ↗
The publisher’s original
ILO’s own file, on its own site.
https://rplumber.ilo.org/data/indicator/?id=LUU_XLU4_SEX_RT&format=.csv&channel=ilostat
What this site changed: Reshaped to one row per country, with its ISO code; no value recalculated, rescaled or rounded. In full
Licence: CC BY 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words
Cite this edition
International Labour Organization (ILO) (2017). Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4), 2017 [data set], describing 2017. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/labour-underutilisation/2017
0611 held
Other years
‹ The year before
Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4), 201667 countries
The year after ›
Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4), 201873 countries
All of them
Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4): every year11 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country