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Cuba — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Cuba, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
1.75%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -79.0% since 1991
Unemployment for Cuba was 1.75% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 9.27% in 1993. The lowest was 1.58% in 2008 (about 1.1× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -4.48% per year.
Cuba ranks 173 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 93%. The median for Latin America & Caribbean is 5.99%, so Cuba sits below it. It peaked in 1993 and has fallen 81% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 27%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
1.75%
First (1991)
8.31%
Change
-79.0%
Highest
9.27%
in 1993
Lowest
1.58%
in 2008
Average
3.79%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-4.48%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.75% |
| 2024 | 1.76% |
| 2023 | 1.73% |
| 2022 | 1.83% |
| 2021 | 2.11% |
| 2020 | 2.23% |
| 2019 | 1.71% |
| 2018 | 1.7% |
| 2017 | 1.7% |
| 2016 | 2% |
| 2015 | 2.4% |
| 2014 | 2.7% |
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.