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Norway — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Norway, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
4.64%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -14.2% since 1991
Unemployment for Norway was 4.64% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 6.31% in 1995. The lowest was 2.49% in 2007 (about 1.9× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.45% per year.
Norway ranks 109 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 58%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 5.58%, so Norway sits below it. It peaked in 1995 and has fallen 26% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 8%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
4.64%
First (1991)
5.41%
Change
-14.2%
Highest
6.31%
in 1995
Lowest
2.49%
in 2007
Average
4.08%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.45%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 4.64% |
| 2024 | 4% |
| 2023 | 3.57% |
| 2022 | 3.23% |
| 2021 | 4.36% |
| 2020 | 4.42% |
| 2019 | 3.68% |
| 2018 | 3.8% |
| 2017 | 4.16% |
| 2016 | 4.68% |
| 2015 | 4.3% |
| 2014 | 3.49% |
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.