Data for 2020

Unemployment Rate, 2020

Name: Unemployment Rate, 2020
Creator: International Labour Organization (ILO)
License: https://www.ilo.org/rights-and-permissions

2020, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Unemployment Rate, 2020 covers 187 countries. Eswatini is highest, at 32.978; Qatar is lowest, at 0.140. The middle country reads 6.375. Against 2019, 187 values changed (169 up, 18 down), the same countries are covered.

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Unemployment Rate · Data for 2020

HighestEswatini

32.978

LowestQatar

0.140

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

187countries
1measure
2020the 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, 2020, 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, 2020: every country, as published by International Labour Organization (ILO).
derived
1	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	32.978
2	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	29.217
3	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	27.701
4	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	25.895
5	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	25.224
6	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	22.286
7	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	21.279
8	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	21.017
9	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	21.003
10	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	20.635
11	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	19.651
12	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	19.414
13	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	19.213
14	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	18.385
15	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	18.175
16	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	17.963
17	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	17.878
18	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	17.651
19	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	16.696
20	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	16.575
21	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	16.432
22	Colombia`COL`South America	15.983
23	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	15.899
24	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	15.868
25	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	15.766
26	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	15.573
27	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	15.532
28	Guyana`GUY`South America	15.308
29	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	15.179
30	Panama`PAN`Central America	14.663
31	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	14.650
32	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	14.366
33	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	14.246
34	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	14.080
35	Brazil`BRA`South America	13.697
36	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	13.558
37	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	13.252
38	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	13.148
39	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	13.037
40	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	12.963
41	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	12.016
42	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	11.995
43	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	11.829
44	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	11.734
45	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	11.710
46	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	11.639
47	Argentina`ARG`South America	11.461
48	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	11.189
49	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	11.051
50	Honduras`HND`Central America	10.982
51	Chile`CHL`South America	10.934
52	Belize`BLZ`Central America	10.763
53	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	10.586
54	Uruguay`URY`South America	10.413
55	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	9.687
56	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	9.679
57	Canada`CAN`Northern America	9.657
58	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	9.475
59	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	9.192
60	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	9.011
61	Suriname`SUR`South America	8.973
62	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	8.890
63	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	8.626
64	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	8.625
65	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	8.617
66	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	8.487
67	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	8.291
68	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	8.098
69	United States`USA`Northern America	8.055
70	France`FRA`Western Europe	8.009
71	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	7.974
72	Bolivia`BOL`South America	7.903
73	India`IND`Southern Asia	7.859
74	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	7.759
75	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	7.755
76	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	7.660
77	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	7.576
78	Paraguay`PRY`South America	7.548
79	Venezuela`VEN`South America	7.530
80	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	7.467
81	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	7.409
82	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	7.389
83	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	7.240
84	Peru`PER`South America	7.179
85	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	6.956
86	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	6.850
87	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	6.766
88	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	6.719
89	Channel Islands`CHI`Northern Europe	6.633
90	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	6.519
91	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	6.501
92	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	6.413
93	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	6.394
94	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	6.375
95	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	6.241
96	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	6.180
97	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	6.126
98	Ecuador`ECU`South America	6.116
99	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	6.032
100	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	6.007
101	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	5.994
102	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	5.945
103	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	5.840
104	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	5.808
105	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	5.720
106	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	5.714
107	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	5.644
108	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	5.623
109	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	5.620
110	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	5.613
111	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	5.545
112	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	5.539
113	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	5.478
114	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	5.420
115	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	5.364
116	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	5.355
117	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	5.293
118	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	5.201
119	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	5.054
120	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	5.037
121	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	5.035
122	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	5.030
123	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	5.019
124	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	5.008
125	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	5.000
126	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	4.971
127	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	4.890
128	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	4.856
129	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	4.817
130	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	4.595
131	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	4.590
132	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	4.540
133	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	4.489
134	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	4.472
135	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	4.468
136	Mexico`MEX`Central America	4.440
137	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	4.424
138	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	4.294
139	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	4.255
140	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	4.248
141	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	4.206
142	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	4.169
143	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	4.102
144	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	4.100
145	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	4.049
146	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	4.046
147	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	3.998
148	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	3.931
=149	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	3.881
=149	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	3.881
151	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	3.820
152	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	3.819
153	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	3.624
154	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	3.528
155	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	3.509
156	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	3.489
157	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	3.432
158	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	3.292
159	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	3.178
160	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	3.155
161	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	2.965
162	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	2.940
163	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	2.903
164	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	2.887
165	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	2.809
166	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	2.808
167	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	2.712
168	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	2.588
169	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	2.550
170	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	2.542
171	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	2.522
172	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	2.349
173	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	2.233
174	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	2.231
175	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	2.103
176	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	1.792
177	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	1.765
178	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	1.695
179	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	1.518
180	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	1.476
181	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	1.206
182	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	1.099
183	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	1.030
184	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	0.868
185	Niger`NER`Western Africa	0.591
186	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	0.172
187	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.140

02In 2020

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Eswatini32.978
2South Africa29.217
3Djibouti27.701
4Palestine25.895
5Saint Lucia25.224

Lowest

187Qatar0.140
186Cambodia0.172
185Niger0.591
184Solomon Islands0.868
183Burundi1.030

A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 6.375. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032019 → 2020

Since 2019

What changed between 2019 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
187values changed, of 187 in both
169 · 18rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Saint Lucia15.613 → 25.224+9.611
Panama6.256 → 14.663+8.407
Colombia10.280 → 15.983+5.703
Costa Rica10.807 → 16.432+5.625
Honduras5.698 → 10.982+5.284

Fell most

Mongolia9.024 → 6.413−2.611
Vanuatu5.444 → 4.046−1.398
Serbia10.395 → 9.011−1.384
Greece17.045 → 15.899−1.146
Iran10.740 → 9.687−1.053

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 2020.
186 distinct values among 187
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 2 countries share 3.881. 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-2020-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) (2020). Unemployment Rate, 2020 [data set], describing 2020. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/unemployment-rate/2020

0635 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Unemployment Rate, 2019
187 countries
The year after ›
Unemployment Rate, 2021
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