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Iraq — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Iraq, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
15.48%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +79.2% since 1991
Unemployment for Iraq was 15.48% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 16.17% in 2021. The lowest was 7.96% in 2012 (about 1.9× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 1.73% per year.
Iraq ranks 15 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 8%. The median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan is 9.00%, so Iraq sits above it. It peaked in 2021 and has fallen 4% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 43%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
15.48%
First (1991)
8.64%
Change
+79.2%
Highest
16.17%
in 2021
Lowest
7.96%
in 2012
Average
10.28%
Annual growth (CAGR)
1.73%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 15.49% |
| 2024 | 15.29% |
| 2023 | 15.24% |
| 2022 | 15.41% |
| 2021 | 16.17% |
| 2020 | 15.77% |
| 2019 | 14.1% |
| 2018 | 13.46% |
| 2017 | 13.02% |
| 2016 | 10.82% |
| 2015 | 10.87% |
| 2014 | 10.59% |
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.