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Nicaragua — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Nicaragua, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
5.04%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -36.3% since 1991
Unemployment for Nicaragua was 5.04% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 8.16% in 2009. The lowest was 3.30% in 2017 (about 1.5× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -1.32% per year.
Nicaragua ranks 100 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 53%. The median for Latin America & Caribbean is 5.99%, so Nicaragua sits below it. It peaked in 2009 and has fallen 38% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 7%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
5.04%
First (1991)
7.91%
Change
-36.3%
Highest
8.16%
in 2009
Lowest
3.30%
in 2017
Average
6.20%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-1.32%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.04% |
| 2024 | 4.98% |
| 2023 | 4.7% |
| 2022 | 4.97% |
| 2021 | 6.08% |
| 2020 | 6.18% |
| 2019 | 5.46% |
| 2018 | 5.2% |
| 2017 | 3.3% |
| 2016 | 3.9% |
| 2015 | 4.7% |
| 2014 | 4.52% |
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.