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Benin — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Benin, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
1.59%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -2.9% since 1991
Unemployment for Benin was 1.59% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 2.65% in 2011. The lowest was 0.69% in 2002 (about 2.3× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.09% per year.
Benin ranks 175 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 94%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 5.45%, so Benin sits below it. It peaked in 2011 and has fallen 40% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 16%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
1.59%
First (1991)
1.64%
Change
-2.9%
Highest
2.65%
in 2011
Lowest
0.69%
in 2002
Average
1.38%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.09%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.59% |
| 2024 | 1.64% |
| 2023 | 1.64% |
| 2022 | 1.69% |
| 2021 | 1.83% |
| 2020 | 1.52% |
| 2019 | 1.21% |
| 2018 | 1.43% |
| 2017 | 1.69% |
| 2016 | 1.83% |
| 2015 | 1.89% |
| 2014 | 1.95% |
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.