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Portugal — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Portugal, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
6.16%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +57.3% since 1991
Unemployment for Portugal was 6.16% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 16.24% in 2013. The lowest was 3.81% in 2000 (about 1.6× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 1.34% per year.
Portugal ranks 75 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 40%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 5.58%, so Portugal sits above it. It peaked in 2013 and has fallen 62% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 50%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
6.16%
First (1991)
3.92%
Change
+57.3%
Highest
16.24%
in 2013
Lowest
3.81%
in 2000
Average
7.67%
Annual growth (CAGR)
1.34%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 6.16% |
| 2024 | 6.5% |
| 2023 | 6.5% |
| 2022 | 6.14% |
| 2021 | 6.71% |
| 2020 | 6.85% |
| 2019 | 6.42% |
| 2018 | 6.97% |
| 2017 | 8.88% |
| 2016 | 11.06% |
| 2015 | 12.41% |
| 2014 | 13.88% |
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.