United Arab Emirates — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for United Arab Emirates, 1991–2025.
Unemployment for United Arab Emirates was 2.17% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 4.29% in 2020. The lowest was 1.63% in 1991 (about 1.3× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.85% per year.
United Arab Emirates ranks 169 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 90%. The median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan is 9.00%, so United Arab Emirates sits below it. It peaked in 2020 and has fallen 49% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 21%. Within Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan it ranks 21 of 23 economies; Bahrain (1.10%) is just below it. Its sharpest one-year move was up 84% in 2020. That is 12% below this series' own ten-year average.
Data highlights
From its 1991 level: doubled by 2020. Doubling roughly every 82 years at that pace.
World ranking. Climbed: 167th of 187 in 1991 → 170th of 187 in 2000 → 163rd of 187 in 2010 → 138th of 187 in 2020 → 164th of 182 in 2025.
Key figures
Full history — 1991 to 2025
| Year | % of total labor force | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.17% | +0.0 pp |
| 2024 | 2.16% | +0.0 pp |
| 2023 | 2.15% | -0.7 pp |
| 2022 | 2.87% | -0.2 pp |
| 2021 | 3.11% | -1.2 pp |
| 2020 | 4.29% | +2.0 pp |
| 2019 | 2.33% | +0.1 pp |
| 2018 | 2.24% | -0.2 pp |
| 2017 | 2.46% | +0.8 pp |
| 2016 | 1.64% | -0.2 pp |
| 2015 | 1.79% | -0.2 pp |
| 2014 | 2% | -0.1 pp |
| 2013 | 2.13% | -0.2 pp |
| 2012 | 2.32% | -0.3 pp |
| 2011 | 2.59% | -0.2 pp |
| 2010 | 2.8% | -0.1 pp |
| 2009 | 2.93% | +0.1 pp |
| 2008 | 2.82% | -0.1 pp |
| 2007 | 2.93% | -0.0 pp |
| 2006 | 2.96% | -0.2 pp |
| 2005 | 3.12% | +0.2 pp |
| 2004 | 2.97% | +0.1 pp |
| 2003 | 2.9% | +0.2 pp |
| 2002 | 2.66% | +0.2 pp |
| 2001 | 2.44% | +0.2 pp |
| 2000 | 2.25% | +0.1 pp |
| 1999 | 2.19% | +0.1 pp |
| 1998 | 2.07% | +0.2 pp |
| 1997 | 1.91% | +0.1 pp |
| 1996 | 1.84% | +0.0 pp |
| 1995 | 1.8% | -0.0 pp |
| 1994 | 1.83% | -0.1 pp |
| 1993 | 1.9% | +0.2 pp |
| 1992 | 1.72% | +0.1 pp |
| 1991 | 1.63% | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was United Arab Emirates’s Unemployment in 1992?
1.72% (1992). The full year-by-year table above lists every published year, most recent first.
Are changes in this series measured in percentage points?
Yes. The series is a share expressed in % of total labor force, so year-over-year movements in the Change column are percentage points (pp), not percent.
Is United Arab Emirates’s Unemployment growing or shrinking?
Between 1991 and 2025 the series was growing overall: +33.5% in total — about 0.9% a year compounded.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), indicator SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS. Values are reproduced as published; this page only computes summary statistics such as change, CAGR and extremes.
What are the most recent published figures?
The last five published years: 2025: 2.17%; 2024: 2.16%; 2023: 2.15%; 2022: 2.87%; 2021: 3.11%. Earlier years are in the full-history table below.
Related data
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.