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Yemen, Rep. — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Yemen, Rep., 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
17.32%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +105.5% since 1991
Unemployment for Yemen, Rep. was 17.32% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 18.61% in 2017. The lowest was 8.34% in 1994 (about 2.1× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 2.14% per year.
Yemen, Rep. ranks 12 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 6%. The median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan is 9.00%, so Yemen, Rep. sits above it. It peaked in 2017 and has fallen 7% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 3%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
17.32%
First (1991)
8.43%
Change
+105.5%
Highest
18.61%
in 2017
Lowest
8.34%
in 1994
Average
13.36%
Annual growth (CAGR)
2.14%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 17.32% |
| 2024 | 16.97% |
| 2023 | 16.94% |
| 2022 | 17.22% |
| 2021 | 18.31% |
| 2020 | 17.96% |
| 2019 | 17.21% |
| 2018 | 17.59% |
| 2017 | 18.61% |
| 2016 | 18.42% |
| 2015 | 17.9% |
| 2014 | 13.47% |
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.