Data for 1997

Unemployment Rate, 1997

Name: Unemployment Rate, 1997
Creator: International Labour Organization (ILO)
License: https://www.ilo.org/rights-and-permissions

1997, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Unemployment Rate, 1997 covers 187 countries. North Macedonia is highest, at 36.000; Pakistan is lowest, at 0.611. The middle country reads 7.136. Against 1996, 183 values changed (86 up, 97 down), the same countries are covered.

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Unemployment Rate · Data for 1997

HighestNorth Macedonia

36.000

LowestPakistan

0.611

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the lowest end.

187countries
1measure
1997the year it describes
181distinct values3 decimals, as published
Sep 6, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Unemployment Rate, 1997, as published. ILO ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 187 countries · select a heading to sort

Unemployment Rate, 1997: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	36.000
2	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	30.219
3	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	27.176
4	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	25.430
5	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	24.450
6	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	22.586
7	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	22.549
8	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	22.500
9	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	21.031
10	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	20.698
11	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	20.470
12	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	20.133
13	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	19.886
14	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	19.151
15	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	18.899
16	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	18.382
17	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	17.166
18	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	17.100
19	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	16.872
20	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	16.064
21	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	15.940
22	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	15.822
23	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	15.324
24	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	15.010
25	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	14.967
26	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	14.900
27	Argentina`ARG`South America	14.820
28	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	14.610
29	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	14.414
30	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	14.130
31	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	14.025
=32	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	13.800
=32	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	13.800
34	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	13.740
35	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	13.700
36	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	13.273
=37	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	13.010
=37	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	13.010
39	Belize`BLZ`Central America	12.680
40	France`FRA`Western Europe	12.566
41	Colombia`COL`South America	12.140
42	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	12.068
43	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	11.985
44	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	11.894
45	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	11.866
46	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	11.813
47	Guyana`GUY`South America	11.565
48	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	11.500
49	Uruguay`URY`South America	11.440
50	Venezuela`VEN`South America	11.160
51	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	11.087
52	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	11.000
53	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	10.964
54	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	10.900
55	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	10.800
56	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	10.600
57	Suriname`SUR`South America	10.560
58	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	10.547
59	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	10.522
60	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	10.512
61	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	10.472
62	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	10.369
63	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	10.359
64	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	10.223
65	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	10.191
66	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	9.999
67	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	9.861
68	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	9.788
69	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	9.760
70	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	9.751
71	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	9.710
72	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	9.680
73	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	9.670
74	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	9.381
=75	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	9.100
=75	Canada`CAN`Northern America	9.100
77	Brazil`BRA`South America	9.003
78	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	8.991
79	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	8.950
80	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	8.930
81	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	8.620
82	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	8.370
83	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	8.367
84	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	8.269
85	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	8.221
86	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	7.980
87	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	7.900
88	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	7.863
89	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	7.859
90	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	7.639
91	India`IND`Southern Asia	7.574
92	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	7.310
93	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	7.263
94	Chile`CHL`South America	7.136
=95	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	7.100
=95	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	7.100
97	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	7.072
98	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	7.003
99	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	6.930
100	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	6.857
101	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	6.841
102	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	6.693
103	Channel Islands`CHI`Northern Europe	6.685
104	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	6.648
105	Panama`PAN`Central America	6.588
106	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	6.571
107	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	6.328
108	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	6.323
109	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	5.971
110	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	5.797
111	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	5.680
112	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	5.608
113	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	5.515
114	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	5.511
=115	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	5.400
=115	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	5.400
117	Paraguay`PRY`South America	5.360
118	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	5.283
119	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	5.204
120	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	5.150
121	United States`USA`Northern America	5.000
122	Peru`PER`South America	4.762
123	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	4.725
124	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	4.690
125	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	4.687
126	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	4.684
127	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	4.674
128	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	4.561
129	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	4.477
130	Ecuador`ECU`South America	4.424
131	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	4.363
132	Mexico`MEX`Central America	4.235
133	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	4.196
134	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	4.150
135	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	4.127
=136	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	3.964
=136	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	3.964
138	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	3.780
139	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	3.720
140	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	3.618
141	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	3.592
142	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	3.406
143	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	3.400
144	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	3.374
145	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	3.342
146	Honduras`HND`Central America	3.320
147	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	3.253
148	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	3.230
149	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	3.227
150	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	3.225
151	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	3.209
152	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	3.171
153	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	3.124
154	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	2.951
155	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	2.877
156	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	2.870
157	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	2.854
158	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	2.818
159	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	2.759
160	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	2.700
161	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	2.698
162	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	2.608
163	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	2.527
164	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	2.500
165	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	2.450
166	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	2.412
167	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	2.354
168	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	2.220
169	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	2.195
170	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	2.145
171	Bolivia`BOL`South America	2.080
172	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	2.009
173	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	1.906
174	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	1.739
175	Niger`NER`Western Africa	1.503
176	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	1.411
177	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	1.393
178	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	1.250
179	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	1.125
180	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	1.100
181	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.873
182	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.870
183	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	0.764
184	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	0.732
185	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.700
186	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.638
187	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	0.611

02In 1997

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1North Macedonia36.000
2Montenegro30.219
3Djibouti27.176
4Algeria25.430
5Namibia24.450

Lowest

187Pakistan0.611
186Cambodia0.638
185Kuwait0.700
184Chad0.732
183Myanmar0.764

A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 7.136. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031996 → 1997

Since 1996

What changed between 1996 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
183values changed, of 187 in both
86 · 97rose · fell
4unchanged

Rose most

Saint Lucia16.330 → 20.470+4.140
Albania13.928 → 16.872+2.944
Russia9.665 → 11.813+2.148
Namibia22.844 → 24.450+1.606
Armenia9.300 → 10.800+1.500

Fell most

Belarus24.400 → 17.100−7.300
Latvia20.700 → 14.900−5.800
Algeria28.268 → 25.430−2.838
North Macedonia38.800 → 36.000−2.800
Paraguay8.150 → 5.360−2.790

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

How values are stored

One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from ILO’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 1997.
181 distinct values among 187
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 2 countries share 13.800. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
ILO publishes values only; the order is this site’s.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 187 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
187 rows · 5.1 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download unemployment-rate-1997-nations-inquiry.csv
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The publisher’s original
ILO’s own file, on its own site.
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

International Labour Organization (ILO) (1997). Unemployment Rate, 1997 [data set], describing 1997. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/unemployment-rate/1997

0635 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Unemployment Rate, 1996
187 countries
The year after ›
Unemployment Rate, 1998
187 countries
All of them
Unemployment Rate: every year
35 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions