South Africa Unemployment Rate 1991-2025

South Africa unemployment rate for 2023 was 27.99%, a 0.85% decline from 2022.
  • South Africa unemployment rate for 2022 was 28.84%, a 0.07% increase from 2021.
  • South Africa unemployment rate for 2021 was 28.77%, a 4.43% increase from 2020.
  • South Africa unemployment rate for 2020 was 24.34%, a 1.2% decline from 2019.
Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.
Country Rankings
Country Name Unemployment Rate
Eswatini 37.64%
South Africa 27.99%
Djibouti 26.26%
Botswana 23.38%
Gabon 20.36%
Republic of Congo 20.05%
Namibia 19.42%
Somalia 19.03%
Libya 18.74%
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 18.67%
Jordan 17.94%
Yemen 17.22%
Lesotho 16.46%
Iraq 15.53%
Montenegro 15.25%
Tunisia 15.11%
Rwanda 14.93%
Haiti 14.62%
Angola 14.62%
Afghanistan 14.39%
Sao Tome and Principe 14.21%
Syrian Arab Republic 13.54%
North Macedonia 13.08%
Guyana 12.43%
South Sudan 12.27%
Spain 12.14%
Virgin Islands (U.S.) 12.09%
Cabo Verde 11.99%
Algeria 11.81%
French Polynesia 11.72%
Georgia 11.62%
Albania 11.58%
Lebanon 11.57%
Sudan 11.45%
New Caledonia 11.22%
St. Lucia 11.09%
Greece 11.00%
Nepal 10.69%
Mauritania 10.51%
Bosnia 10.42%
Samoa 9.75%
Colombia 9.57%
Turkey 9.41%
Bahamas 9.20%
Morocco 9.11%
Iran 9.10%
Chile 9.04%
Zimbabwe 8.76%
Serbia 8.68%
Equatorial Guinea 8.67%
Armenia 8.59%
Uruguay 8.35%
Costa Rica 8.30%
Belize 8.26%
Barbados 7.95%
Brazil 7.95%
Suriname 7.70%
Italy 7.62%
Sweden 7.59%
France 7.32%
Egypt 7.31%
Finland 7.16%
Tajikistan 6.98%
Lithuania 6.96%
Panama 6.70%
Latvia 6.53%
Euro Area 6.53%
Portugal 6.49%
Gambia 6.48%
Sri Lanka 6.36%
Estonia 6.35%
Central African Republic 6.29%
Argentina 6.18%
Mongolia 6.13%
Croatia 6.06%
Honduras 6.06%
Mauritius 6.06%
Channel Islands 5.98%
Cyprus 5.96%
Puerto Rico 5.96%
Zambia 5.91%
Eritrea 5.87%
Slovak Republic 5.84%
Comoros 5.80%
Paraguay 5.78%
Kenya 5.68%
Bhutan 5.65%
Azerbaijan 5.64%
Romania 5.60%
Dominican Republic 5.56%
Venezuela 5.53%
Belgium 5.51%
Pakistan 5.50%
Guam 5.42%
Canada 5.37%
Guinea 5.30%
Burkina Faso 5.29%
Brunei 5.27%
Austria 5.24%
Luxembourg 5.19%
Denmark 5.14%
Vanuatu 5.10%
Bangladesh 5.06%
Malawi 5.04%
Saudi Arabia 4.88%
Kazakhstan 4.85%
Peru 4.82%
Nicaragua 4.80%
China 4.67%
Democratic Republic of Congo 4.54%
Uzbekistan 4.53%
Jamaica 4.42%
Ireland 4.34%
Fiji 4.33%
Bulgaria 4.30%
Trinidad and Tobago 4.21%
India 4.17%
Maldives 4.13%
Hungary 4.13%
Turkmenistan 4.12%
United Kingdom 4.06%
Switzerland 4.05%
Kyrgyz Republic 4.04%
Hong Kong 3.93%
Malaysia 3.86%
New Zealand 3.74%
Australia 3.67%
Cameroon 3.65%
Slovenia 3.63%
United States 3.63%
Norway 3.58%
Belarus 3.57%
Iceland 3.56%
Netherlands 3.56%
Mozambique 3.54%
Ethiopia 3.50%
Singapore 3.47%
Indonesia 3.42%
Israel 3.39%
Ecuador 3.37%
Russia 3.33%
Guinea-Bissau 3.18%
Sierra Leone 3.17%
Malta 3.13%
Bolivia 3.08%
Ghana 3.08%
Nigeria 3.07%
Madagascar 3.06%
Germany 3.05%
Mali 3.01%
North Korea 3.00%
Liberia 2.94%
Senegal 2.93%
Poland 2.91%
Myanmar 2.84%
Uganda 2.83%
Mexico 2.81%
El Salvador 2.76%
UAE 2.71%
Guatemala 2.71%
Papua New Guinea 2.65%
South Korea 2.64%
Tanzania 2.61%
Czech Republic 2.59%
Japan 2.58%
Tonga 2.30%
Macao 2.25%
Philippines 2.23%
Kuwait 2.08%
Togo 2.05%
Moldova 1.62%
Vietnam 1.60%
Solomon Islands 1.55%
Timor-Leste 1.52%
Oman 1.46%
Benin 1.45%
Lao PDR 1.18%
Cuba 1.16%
Bahrain 1.16%
Chad 1.08%
Burundi 0.93%
Thailand 0.91%
Niger 0.55%
Cambodia 0.24%
Qatar 0.13%