Countries in Africa by unemployment
People without work who are looking for it, as a share of the labour force, as modelled by the International Labour Organization so countries can be compared. 53 countries in Africa, highest first. World Bank, mostly 2025
Median country
6.0%
half above, half below| # | Country | % of labour force | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Eswatini | 34.2% | 2025 | Southern Africa |
| 2 |  South Africa | 32.4% | 2025 | Southern Africa |
| 3 |  Djibouti | 26.0% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 4 |  Botswana | 24.5% | 2025 | Southern Africa |
| 5 |  Gabon | 20.2% | 2025 | Middle Africa |
| 6 |  Congo | 19.9% | 2025 | Middle Africa |
| 7 |  Namibia | 19.3% | 2025 | Southern Africa |
| 8 |  Somalia | 18.9% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 9 |  Libya | 18.8% | 2025 | Northern Africa |
| 10 |  Lesotho | 16.3% | 2025 | Southern Africa |
| 11 |  Tunisia | 15.1% | 2025 | Northern Africa |
| 12 |  Angola | 14.1% | 2025 | Middle Africa |
| 13 |  South Sudan | 12.4% | 2023 | Eastern Africa |
| 14 |  Cabo Verde | 11.9% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| 15 |  Algeria | 11.6% | 2025 | Northern Africa |
| 16 |  Rwanda | 11.4% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 17 |  Mauritania | 10.3% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| 18 |  Zimbabwe | 9.3% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 19 |  São Tomé and Principe | 9.1% | 2025 | Middle Africa |
| 20 |  Morocco | 9.0% | 2025 | Northern Africa |
| 21 |  Equatorial Guinea | 8.3% | 2025 | Middle Africa |
| 22 |  Sudan | 7.5% | 2022 | Northern Africa |
| 23 |  Egypt | 6.8% | 2025 | Northern Africa |
| 24 |  Mozambique | 6.6% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 25 |  Gambia | 6.5% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| 26 |  Central African Republic | 6.3% | 2025 | Middle Africa |
| 27 |  Eritrea | 6.0% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 28 |  Zambia | 5.9% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 29 |  Mauritius | 5.6% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 30 |  Kenya | 5.4% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 31 |  Guinea | 5.2% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| 32 |  Malawi | 5.1% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 33 |  DR Congo | 4.4% | 2025 | Middle Africa |
| 34 |  Comoros | 3.8% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 35 |  Cameroon | 3.6% | 2025 | Middle Africa |
| 36 |  Burkina Faso | 3.5% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| 37 |  Ethiopia | 3.3% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 38 |  Sierra Leone | 3.2% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| 39 |  Nigeria | 3.1% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| =40 |  Ghana | 3.0% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| =40 |  Madagascar | 3.0% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 42 |  Liberia | 2.9% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| 43 |  Mali | 2.8% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| =44 |  Guinea-Bissau | 2.7% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| =44 |  Senegal | 2.7% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| =44 |  Uganda | 2.7% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 47 |  Côte d'Ivoire | 2.3% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| 48 |  Togo | 2.0% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| =49 |  Benin | 1.6% | 2025 | Western Africa |
| =49 |  Tanzania | 1.6% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 51 |  Chad | 1.1% | 2025 | Middle Africa |
| 52 |  Burundi | 0.9% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| 53 |  Niger | 0.4% | 2025 | Western Africa |
No World Bank figure for Seychelles.
Questions
- Which country in Africa has the highest unemployment?
- Eswatini has the highest unemployment in Africa: 34.2% of the labour force (2025). Next come South Africa (32.4% of the labour force) and Djibouti (26.0% of the labour force).
- Which country in Africa has the lowest unemployment?
- Niger, with 0.4% of the labour force (2025).
- What is the typical unemployment of a country in Africa?
- The median of the 53 countries in Africa is 6.0% of the labour force: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
- Where do the figures come from?
- People without work who are looking for it, as a share of the labour force, as modelled by the International Labour Organization so countries can be compared. Source: World Bank, mostly 2025. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.
Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0). Figures more than 5 years older than the newest are left out rather than shown beside current ones. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.