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Bangladesh — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Bangladesh, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
3.78%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +71.7% since 1991
Unemployment for Bangladesh was 3.78% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 5.54% in 2020. The lowest was 2.20% in 1991 (about 1.7× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 1.60% per year.
Bangladesh ranks 123 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 66%. The median for South Asia is 4.22%, so Bangladesh sits below it. It peaked in 2020 and has fallen 32% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 14%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
3.78%
First (1991)
2.20%
Change
+71.7%
Highest
5.54%
in 2020
Lowest
2.20%
in 1991
Average
3.77%
Annual growth (CAGR)
1.60%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.78% |
| 2024 | 3.64% |
| 2023 | 3.35% |
| 2022 | 4.59% |
| 2021 | 5.46% |
| 2020 | 5.54% |
| 2019 | 4.5% |
| 2018 | 4.44% |
| 2017 | 4.37% |
| 2016 | 4.35% |
| 2015 | 4.4% |
| 2014 | 4.42% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.