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Colombia — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Colombia, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
8.29%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -18.1% since 1991
Unemployment for Colombia was 8.29% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 20.52% in 2000. The lowest was 7.80% in 1993 (about 1.1× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.58% per year.
Colombia ranks 55 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 29%. The median for Latin America & Caribbean is 5.99%, so Colombia sits above it. It peaked in 2000 and has fallen 60% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 3%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
8.29%
First (1991)
10.12%
Change
-18.1%
Highest
20.52%
in 2000
Lowest
7.80%
in 1993
Average
11.45%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.58%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 8.29% |
| 2024 | 9.62% |
| 2023 | 9.59% |
| 2022 | 10.54% |
| 2021 | 13.9% |
| 2020 | 15.98% |
| 2019 | 10.28% |
| 2018 | 9.36% |
| 2017 | 9.09% |
| 2016 | 8.92% |
| 2015 | 8.57% |
| 2014 | 8.8% |
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.