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Nepal — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Nepal, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
10.46%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · broadly flat since 1991
Unemployment for Nepal was 10.46% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 13.04% in 2020. The lowest was 10.44% in 2023 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.00% per year.
Nepal ranks 36 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 19%. The median for South Asia is 4.22%, so Nepal sits above it. It peaked in 2020 and has fallen 20% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 2%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
10.46%
First (1991)
10.46%
Change
0.0%
Highest
13.04%
in 2020
Lowest
10.44%
in 2023
Average
10.68%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.00%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 10.47% |
| 2024 | 10.5% |
| 2023 | 10.44% |
| 2022 | 10.66% |
| 2021 | 12.24% |
| 2020 | 13.04% |
| 2019 | 10.48% |
| 2018 | 10.59% |
| 2017 | 10.66% |
| 2016 | 10.71% |
| 2015 | 10.64% |
| 2014 | 10.62% |
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.