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Samoa — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Samoa, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
5.00%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +137.9% since 1991
Unemployment for Samoa was 5.00% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 9.40% in 2017. The lowest was 2.10% in 1991 (about 2.4× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 2.58% per year.
Samoa ranks 102 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 55%. The median for East Asia & Pacific is 3.05%, so Samoa sits above it. It peaked in 2017 and has fallen 47% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 44%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
5.00%
First (1991)
2.10%
Change
+137.9%
Highest
9.40%
in 2017
Lowest
2.10%
in 1991
Average
5.62%
Annual growth (CAGR)
2.58%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5% |
| 2024 | 4.86% |
| 2023 | 4.92% |
| 2022 | 5.05% |
| 2021 | 6.66% |
| 2020 | 7.47% |
| 2019 | 7.86% |
| 2018 | 8.65% |
| 2017 | 9.4% |
| 2016 | 9.06% |
| 2015 | 8.9% |
| 2014 | 8.72% |
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.