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South Africa — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for South Africa, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
32.39%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +40.0% since 1991
Unemployment for South Africa was 32.39% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 34.01% in 2021. The lowest was 22.26% in 2007 (about 1.5× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.99% per year.
South Africa ranks 2 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 1%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 5.45%, so South Africa sits above it. It peaked in 2021 and has fallen 5% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 29%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
32.39%
First (1991)
23.14%
Change
+40.0%
Highest
34.01%
in 2021
Lowest
22.26%
in 2007
Average
25.24%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.99%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 32.39% |
| 2024 | 32.28% |
| 2023 | 32.1% |
| 2022 | 33.27% |
| 2021 | 34.01% |
| 2020 | 29.22% |
| 2019 | 28.47% |
| 2018 | 26.91% |
| 2017 | 27.04% |
| 2016 | 26.54% |
| 2015 | 25.15% |
| 2014 | 24.89% |
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.