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United Arab Emirates — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for United Arab Emirates, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
2.17%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +33.5% since 1991
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%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
2.17%
First (1991)
1.63%
Change
+33.5%
Highest
4.29%
in 2020
Lowest
1.63%
in 1991
Average
2.40%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.85%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.17% |
| 2024 | 2.16% |
| 2023 | 2.15% |
| 2022 | 2.87% |
| 2021 | 3.11% |
| 2020 | 4.29% |
| 2019 | 2.33% |
| 2018 | 2.24% |
| 2017 | 2.46% |
| 2016 | 1.64% |
| 2015 | 1.79% |
| 2014 | 2% |
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.