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Timor-Leste — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Timor-Leste, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
1.59%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -53.9% since 1991
Unemployment for Timor-Leste was 1.59% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 4.66% in 2016. The lowest was 1.52% in 2024 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -2.25% per year.
Timor-Leste ranks 174 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 93%. The median for East Asia & Pacific is 3.05%, so Timor-Leste sits below it. It peaked in 2016 and has fallen 66% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 57%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
1.59%
First (1991)
3.45%
Change
-53.9%
Highest
4.66%
in 2016
Lowest
1.52%
in 2024
Average
3.25%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-2.25%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.59% |
| 2024 | 1.52% |
| 2023 | 1.53% |
| 2022 | 1.54% |
| 2021 | 2.34% |
| 2020 | 2.81% |
| 2019 | 3.15% |
| 2018 | 3.77% |
| 2017 | 4.25% |
| 2016 | 4.66% |
| 2015 | 3.68% |
| 2014 | 3.62% |
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.