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Bhutan — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Bhutan, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
3.23%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +133.7% since 1991
Unemployment for Bhutan was 3.23% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 5.95% in 2022. The lowest was 1.38% in 1991 (about 2.3× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 2.53% per year.
Bhutan ranks 141 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 75%. The median for South Asia is 4.22%, so Bhutan sits below it. It peaked in 2022 and has fallen 46% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 32%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
3.23%
First (1991)
1.38%
Change
+133.7%
Highest
5.95%
in 2022
Lowest
1.38%
in 1991
Average
2.68%
Annual growth (CAGR)
2.53%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.23% |
| 2024 | 3.28% |
| 2023 | 3.13% |
| 2022 | 5.95% |
| 2021 | 4.8% |
| 2020 | 5.03% |
| 2019 | 2.72% |
| 2018 | 3.35% |
| 2017 | 3.03% |
| 2016 | 2.71% |
| 2015 | 2.45% |
| 2014 | 2.63% |
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.