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Kenya — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Kenya, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
5.45%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +96.0% since 1991
Unemployment for Kenya was 5.45% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 5.69% in 2021. The lowest was 2.64% in 2007 (about 2.1× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 2.00% per year.
Kenya ranks 87 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 47%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 5.45%, so Kenya sits level with it. It peaked in 2021 and has fallen 4% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 97%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
5.45%
First (1991)
2.78%
Change
+96.0%
Highest
5.69%
in 2021
Lowest
2.64%
in 2007
Average
3.40%
Annual growth (CAGR)
2.00%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.45% |
| 2024 | 5.49% |
| 2023 | 5.41% |
| 2022 | 5.57% |
| 2021 | 5.69% |
| 2020 | 5.61% |
| 2019 | 5.01% |
| 2018 | 4.28% |
| 2017 | 3.54% |
| 2016 | 2.76% |
| 2015 | 2.76% |
| 2014 | 2.77% |
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.