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Malta — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Malta, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
2.90%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -54.3% since 1991
Unemployment for Malta was 2.90% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 7.49% in 2003. Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -2.28% per year.
Malta ranks 151 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 81%. The median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan is 9.00%, so Malta sits below it. It peaked in 2003 and has fallen 61% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 46%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
2.90%
First (1991)
6.33%
Change
-54.3%
Highest
7.49%
in 2003
Lowest
2.90%
in 2025
Average
5.72%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-2.28%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.9% |
| 2024 | 3.1% |
| 2023 | 3.48% |
| 2022 | 3.47% |
| 2021 | 3.75% |
| 2020 | 4.86% |
| 2019 | 4.08% |
| 2018 | 3.96% |
| 2017 | 4.01% |
| 2016 | 4.69% |
| 2015 | 5.39% |
| 2014 | 5.74% |
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.