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Ethiopia — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Ethiopia, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
3.32%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +1.2% since 1991
Unemployment for Ethiopia was 3.32% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 4.00% in 2020. The lowest was 2.25% in 2013 (about 1.5× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.03% per year.
Ethiopia ranks 135 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 72%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 5.45%, so Ethiopia sits below it. It peaked in 2020 and has fallen 17% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 36%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
3.32%
First (1991)
3.28%
Change
+1.2%
Highest
4.00%
in 2020
Lowest
2.25%
in 2013
Average
2.95%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.03%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.32% |
| 2024 | 3.36% |
| 2023 | 3.38% |
| 2022 | 3.39% |
| 2021 | 3.94% |
| 2020 | 4% |
| 2019 | 2.93% |
| 2018 | 2.81% |
| 2017 | 2.67% |
| 2016 | 2.56% |
| 2015 | 2.44% |
| 2014 | 2.36% |
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.