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Countries by Long-Term Unemployment

Complete ranking of 37 countries • Percentage of labour force • Updated 2026

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About Long-Term Unemployment Rankings

Greece leads all 37 countries in Long-Term Unemployment with a value of 5.48% of workforce, while South Korea ranks last at 0.02% of workforce. This represents a 287-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.

What Long-Term Unemployment Measures

Share of the workforce unemployed for a long period, from OECD How's Life / Well-Being.

Why This Ranking Matters

Examining Long-Term Unemployment across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.

Global Range

Values range from 0.02% of workforce (South Korea) to 5.48% of workforce (Greece) — a 287-fold difference across 37 countries.

Regional Patterns

European countries dominate this ranking, holding 20 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.

Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 0.66% of workforce to 1.73% of workforce. The overall spread from 0.02% of workforce to 5.48% of workforce reflects significant global variation.

Notable Outliers

Greece holds a significant lead over Spain, with a 44% gap between first and second place. While several countries cluster near the top, the leader's margin is notable.

Continental Leaders

Europe

Greece

5.48% of workforce

Oceania

Australia

0.84% of workforce

North America

Costa Rica

0.82% of workforce

Asia

Japan

0.80% of workforce

Highest Long-Term Unemployment

The 5 strongest Long-Term Unemployment reads.

Greece5.48% of workforceSpain3.82% of workforceSlovakia3.53% of workforceItaly3.34% of workforcePortugal2.58% of workforce

Lowest Long-Term Unemployment

The 5 lowest Long-Term Unemployment reads.

South Korea0.02% of workforceMexico0.06% of workforceIsrael0.18% of workforceIceland0.43% of workforceUnited States0.50% of workforce

Data Note

Rankings are based on the latest available data from OECD How's Life / Well-Being, covering 37 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.

Top 10 Countries

1stGreece5.5% of workforce
2ndSpain3.8% of workforce
3rdSlovakia3.5% of workforce
4thItaly3.3% of workforce
5thPortugal2.6% of workforce
6thLithuania2.4% of workforce
7thLatvia2.3% of workforce
8thBelgium2.1% of workforce
9thEstonia1.9% of workforce
10thTurkey1.7% of workforce

Country Ladder

1stGreeceEurope5.5% of workforce2ndSpainEurope3.8% of workforce3rdSlovakiaEurope3.5% of workforce4thItalyEurope3.3% of workforce5thPortugalEurope2.6% of workforce6thLithuaniaEurope2.4% of workforce7thLatviaEurope2.3% of workforce8thBelgiumEurope2.1% of workforce9thEstoniaEurope1.9% of workforce10thTurkeyEurope1.7% of workforce11thFranceEurope1.7% of workforce12thLuxembourgEurope1.6% of workforce13thFinlandEurope1.6% of workforce14thHungaryEurope1.6% of workforce15thSwedenEurope1.4% of workforce16thSwitzerlandEurope1.3% of workforce17thAustriaEurope1.1% of workforce18thSloveniaEurope1.1% of workforce19thGermanyEurope0.95% of workforce20thIrelandEurope0.89% of workforce21stUnited KingdomEurope0.86% of workforce22ndAustraliaOceania0.84% of workforce23rdCzechiaEurope0.82% of workforce24thCosta RicaNorth America0.82% of workforce25thColombiaNorth America0.82% of workforce26thJapanAsia0.80% of workforce27thPolandEurope0.80% of workforce28thCanadaNorth America0.66% of workforce29thNorwayEurope0.64% of workforce30thDenmarkEurope0.61% of workforce31stNew ZealandOceania0.51% of workforce32ndNetherlandsEurope0.51% of workforce33rdUnited StatesNorth America0.50% of workforce34thIcelandEurope0.43% of workforce35thIsraelAsia0.18% of workforce36thMexicoNorth America0.06% of workforce37thSouth KoreaAsia0.02% of workforce
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