Countries by Unemployment Rate 2026

About This Dataset

Countries ranked by official unemployment rate as a percentage of the labour force in 2026, according to ILO and IMF estimates. South Africa has persistently recorded one of the world's highest unemployment rates among major economies — with structural unemployment exceeding 32% in 2026, reflecting deep economic inequalities rooted in the apartheid legacy, a mismatch between workforce skills and labour market demand, and an energy infrastructure crisis that has constrained business investment and job creation for over a decade.

Analysis

The top three in Unemployment Rate (%) in 2026 are South Africa (32.5), Venezuela (18.3) and Spain (11.2). The 8 entries in Unemployment Rate (%) cover a range of 30.5, from 32.5 down to 2. First and second are separated by 14.2, so the leader sits inside the field rather than apart from it. Only 2 of the 8 reach even half the leader's figure (16.3 or more).

Source: Wikipedia

Key Findings

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South Africa leads in Unemployment Rate (%) with 32.50 in 2026.

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Average Unemployment Rate (%) in 2026: 11 · median: 8.

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Gap in 2026: South Africa is 16.3× larger than Singapore.

Countries by Unemployment Rate 2026

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Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

Admin

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Data Points

8 categories · 1 year

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Top Value

32.50

South Africa

Unemployment Rate (%) · 2026

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Metrics

Unemployment Rate (%)

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Period

2026

Single year snapshot

Methodology & source

Data source: Wikipedia
Coverage: 8 entities · 2026 · 8 observations
Measure: Unemployment Rate (%)
Last updated: 6 September 2026
Compiled by: The ANYSTAT team, from the source above

How the figures are calculated

Values are shown as reported by the source. Nothing is rescaled, rebased or converted — the only changes are thousand separators and decimals shown to two places.
Entities are ranked highest-first on their value in 2026.