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Eritrea — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Eritrea, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
5.98%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +16.6% since 1991
Unemployment for Eritrea was 5.98% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 6.49% in 2021. The lowest was 5.13% in 1991 (about 1.2× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.45% per year.
Eritrea ranks 78 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 42%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 5.45%, so Eritrea sits above it. It peaked in 2021 and has fallen 8% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 4%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
5.98%
First (1991)
5.13%
Change
+16.6%
Highest
6.49%
in 2021
Lowest
5.13%
in 1991
Average
5.71%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.45%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.98% |
| 2024 | 5.95% |
| 2023 | 5.91% |
| 2022 | 6.03% |
| 2021 | 6.49% |
| 2020 | 6.38% |
| 2019 | 5.81% |
| 2018 | 5.76% |
| 2017 | 5.8% |
| 2016 | 5.77% |
| 2015 | 5.75% |
| 2014 | 5.64% |
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.