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Belgium — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Belgium, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
5.91%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -15.4% since 1991
Unemployment for Belgium was 5.91% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 9.64% in 1994. The lowest was 5.36% in 2019 (about 1.1× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.49% per year.
Belgium ranks 81 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 43%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 5.58%, so Belgium sits above it. It peaked in 1994 and has fallen 39% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 30%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
5.91%
First (1991)
6.98%
Change
-15.4%
Highest
9.64%
in 1994
Lowest
5.36%
in 2019
Average
7.43%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.49%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.91% |
| 2024 | 5.7% |
| 2023 | 5.55% |
| 2022 | 5.57% |
| 2021 | 6.25% |
| 2020 | 5.55% |
| 2019 | 5.36% |
| 2018 | 5.94% |
| 2017 | 7.09% |
| 2016 | 7.83% |
| 2015 | 8.48% |
| 2014 | 8.52% |
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.