Data for 2017

Unemployment Rate, 2017

Name: Unemployment Rate, 2017
Creator: International Labour Organization (ILO)
License: https://www.ilo.org/rights-and-permissions

2017, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Unemployment Rate, 2017 covers 187 countries. South Africa is highest, at 27.035; Qatar is lowest, at 0.140. The middle country reads 5.592. Against 2016, 186 values changed (78 up, 108 down), the same countries are covered.

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Unemployment Rate · Data for 2017

HighestSouth Africa

27.035

LowestQatar

0.140

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

187countries
1measure
2017the year it describes
186distinct 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, 2017, 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, 2017: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	27.035
2	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	26.064
3	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	25.677
4	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	24.543
5	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	22.857
6	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	21.748
7	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	21.413
8	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	20.737
9	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	20.527
10	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	20.307
11	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	19.671
12	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	19.136
13	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	19.053
14	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	19.024
15	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	18.611
16	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	18.455
17	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	18.120
18	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	17.704
19	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	17.224
20	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	16.617
21	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	16.379
22	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	16.082
23	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	15.330
24	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	13.939
25	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	13.932
26	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	13.616
27	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	13.603
28	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	13.477
29	Guyana`GUY`South America	13.466
30	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	13.020
31	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	13.000
32	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	12.983
33	Brazil`BRA`South America	12.792
34	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	12.240
35	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	12.232
36	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	12.000
37	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	11.875
38	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	11.767
39	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	11.676
40	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	11.595
41	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	11.445
42	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	11.211
43	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	11.184
44	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	11.155
45	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	11.078
46	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	10.919
47	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	10.800
48	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	10.660
49	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	10.336
50	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	10.258
51	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	9.800
52	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	9.500
53	France`FRA`Western Europe	9.409
54	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	9.400
55	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	9.316
56	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	9.220
57	Colombia`COL`South America	9.086
58	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	8.878
59	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	8.808
60	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	8.715
61	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	8.640
62	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	8.620
63	Argentina`ARG`South America	8.347
64	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	8.142
65	Suriname`SUR`South America	7.905
66	Uruguay`URY`South America	7.890
67	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	7.843
68	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	7.729
69	India`IND`Southern Asia	7.626
70	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	7.399
71	Chile`CHL`South America	7.257
72	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	7.090
73	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	7.073
74	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	7.035
75	Channel Islands`CHI`Northern Europe	6.881
76	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	6.752
77	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	6.718
78	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	6.713
79	Belize`BLZ`Central America	6.596
80	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	6.564
81	Canada`CAN`Northern America	6.426
82	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	6.359
83	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	6.350
84	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	6.164
85	Paraguay`PRY`South America	6.138
86	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	5.890
87	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	5.836
88	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	5.833
89	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	5.832
90	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	5.830
91	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	5.807
92	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	5.804
93	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	5.648
94	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	5.592
95	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	5.561
96	Honduras`HND`Central America	5.528
97	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	5.523
98	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	5.418
99	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	5.377
100	Panama`PAN`Central America	5.338
101	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	5.247
102	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	5.238
103	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	5.097
104	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	5.046
105	Venezuela`VEN`South America	5.045
106	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	5.000
107	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	4.927
108	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	4.900
109	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	4.867
110	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	4.860
111	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	4.837
112	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	4.830
113	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	4.797
114	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	4.736
115	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	4.662
116	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	4.613
117	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	4.529
118	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	4.501
119	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	4.470
120	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	4.425
121	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	4.418
122	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	4.385
123	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	4.372
124	United States`USA`Northern America	4.355
125	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	4.254
126	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	4.200
127	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	4.164
128	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	4.156
129	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	4.140
130	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	4.078
131	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	4.049
132	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	4.046
133	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	4.035
134	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	4.008
135	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	3.935
136	Ecuador`ECU`South America	3.836
137	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	3.783
138	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	3.781
139	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	3.744
140	Peru`PER`South America	3.691
141	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	3.656
142	Bolivia`BOL`South America	3.655
143	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	3.653
144	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	3.573
145	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	3.542
146	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	3.498
147	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	3.428
148	Mexico`MEX`Central America	3.419
149	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	3.410
150	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	3.389
151	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	3.369
152	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	3.300
153	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	3.272
154	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	3.268
155	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	3.204
156	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	3.124
157	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	3.089
158	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	3.067
159	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	3.027
160	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	2.893
161	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	2.822
162	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	2.742
163	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	2.665
164	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	2.580
165	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	2.552
166	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	2.523
=167	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	2.462
=167	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	2.462
169	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	2.230
170	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	2.137
171	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	2.123
172	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	1.981
173	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	1.874
174	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	1.854
175	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	1.700
176	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	1.691
177	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	1.622
178	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	1.498
179	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	1.356
180	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	1.250
181	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	1.180
182	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	1.132
183	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.830
184	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.727
185	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.556
186	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.141
187	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.140

02In 2017

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1South Africa27.035
2Djibouti26.064
3Palestine25.677
4Eswatini24.543
5North Macedonia22.857

Lowest

187Qatar0.140
186Cambodia0.141
185Niger0.556
184Solomon Islands0.727
183Thailand0.830

A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 5.592. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032016 → 2017

Since 2016

What changed between 2016 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
186values changed, of 187 in both
78 · 108rose · fell
1unchanged

Rose most

Jordan15.275 → 18.120+2.845
Iraq10.820 → 13.020+2.200
Eswatini22.718 → 24.543+1.825
Algeria10.202 → 12.000+1.798
Palestine23.939 → 25.677+1.738

Fell most

Bosnia and Herzegovina25.408 → 20.527−4.881
Bahamas12.700 → 9.800−2.900
Georgia16.604 → 13.939−2.665
Spain19.635 → 17.224−2.411
Portugal11.058 → 8.878−2.180

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 2017.
186 distinct values among 187
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 2 countries share 2.462. 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-2017-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) (2017). Unemployment Rate, 2017 [data set], describing 2017. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/unemployment-rate/2017

0635 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Unemployment Rate, 2016
187 countries
The year after ›
Unemployment Rate, 2018
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