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Iceland — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Iceland, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
3.63%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +42.3% since 1991
Unemployment for Iceland was 3.63% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 7.56% in 2010. The lowest was 1.87% in 2001 (about 1.9× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 1.04% per year.
Iceland ranks 126 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 67%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 5.58%, so Iceland sits below it. It peaked in 2010 and has fallen 52% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 9%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
3.63%
First (1991)
2.55%
Change
+42.3%
Highest
7.56%
in 2010
Lowest
1.87%
in 2001
Average
4.02%
Annual growth (CAGR)
1.04%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.63% |
| 2024 | 3.6% |
| 2023 | 3.52% |
| 2022 | 3.79% |
| 2021 | 6.03% |
| 2020 | 5.48% |
| 2019 | 3.51% |
| 2018 | 2.7% |
| 2017 | 2.74% |
| 2016 | 2.98% |
| 2015 | 3.98% |
| 2014 | 4.9% |
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.