Country leaderboard
Countries by Youth Unemployment Rate
Complete ranking of 186 countries • % of youth labor force • Data refreshed May 5, 2026
Leader
Djibouti
Field size
186 countries
Lowest rank
Niger
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About Youth Unemployment Rate Rankings
Djibouti leads all 186 countries in Youth Unemployment Rate with a value of 76.77% of youth labor force, while Niger ranks last at 0.46% of youth labor force. This represents a 168-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.
What Youth Unemployment Rate Measures
Share of the labor force ages 15-24 that is unemployed from the World Bank latest available country value.
Why This Ranking Matters
Examining Youth Unemployment Rate 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 0.46% of youth labor force (Niger) to 76.77% of youth labor force (Djibouti) — a 168-fold difference across 186 countries.
Regional Patterns
African countries dominate this ranking, holding 10 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 7.81% of youth labor force to 20.55% of youth labor force. The overall spread from 0.46% of youth labor force to 76.77% of youth labor force reflects significant global variation.
Notable Outliers
Djibouti holds a significant lead over South Africa, with a 28% gap between first and second place. While several countries cluster near the top, the leader's margin is notable.
Continental Leaders
Highest Youth Unemployment Rate
The 5 strongest Youth Unemployment Rate reads.
Lowest Youth Unemployment Rate
The 5 lowest Youth Unemployment Rate reads.
Data Note
Rankings are based on the latest available data from World Bank Open Data, covering 186 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
1stDjibouti76.77% of youth labor force
2ndSouth Africa59.93% of youth labor force
3rdEswatini54.33% of youth labor force
4thLibya50.06% of youth labor force
5thBotswana46% of youth labor force
6thSaint Vincent and the Grenadines41.95% of youth labor force
7thCongo40.5% of youth labor force
8thJordan38.88% of youth labor force
9thTunisia38.08% of youth labor force
10thNamibia38.05% of youth labor force
Country Ladder
1stDjiboutiAfrica76.77% of youth labor force2ndSouth AfricaAfrica59.93% of youth labor force3rdEswatiniAfrica54.33% of youth labor force4thLibyaAfrica50.06% of youth labor force5thBotswanaAfrica46% of youth labor force6thSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesNorth America41.95% of youth labor force7thCongoAfrica40.5% of youth labor force8thJordanAsia38.88% of youth labor force9thTunisiaAfrica38.08% of youth labor force10thNamibiaAfrica38.05% of youth labor force11thHaitiNorth America37.52% of youth labor force12thFrench PolynesiaOceania36.57% of youth labor force13thGabonAfrica36.28% of youth labor force14thPalestineAsia36.09% of youth labor force15thSomaliaAfrica34.23% of youth labor force16thNew CaledoniaOceania33.11% of youth labor force17thSyriaAsia33.1% of youth labor force18thYemenAsia32.6% of youth labor force19thIraqAsia32.01% of youth labor force20thGeorgiaEurope30.26% of youth labor force21stAlgeriaAfrica29.44% of youth labor force22ndNorth MacedoniaEurope28.75% of youth labor force23rdCabo VerdeAfrica28.41% of youth labor force24thBosnia and HerzegovinaEurope28.2% of youth labor force25thAngolaAfrica27.23% of youth labor force26thArmeniaEurope26.24% of youth labor force27thAlbaniaEurope25.57% of youth labor force28thSurinameNorth America25.44% of youth labor force29thUruguaySouth America25.15% of youth labor force30thGuyanaNorth America24.9% of youth labor force31stSpainEurope24.75% of youth labor force32ndLesothoAfrica24.67% of youth labor force33rdRomaniaEurope24.54% of youth labor force34thMontenegroEurope24.44% of youth labor force35thSwedenEurope24.31% of youth labor force36thU.S. Virgin IslandsNorth America24.2% of youth labor force37thMauritaniaAfrica22.92% of youth labor force38thLebanonAsia22.74% of youth labor force39thIranAsia21.9% of youth labor force40thMoroccoAfrica21.88% of youth labor force41stChileSouth America21.64% of youth labor force42ndFinlandEurope21.48% of youth labor force43rdLuxembourgEurope21.47% of youth labor force44thGreeceEurope21.39% of youth labor force45thSerbiaEurope20.93% of youth labor force46thNepalAsia20.56% of youth labor force47thItalyEurope20.55% of youth labor force48thSaint LuciaNorth America20.25% of youth labor force49thPortugalEurope20.22% of youth labor force50thCosta RicaNorth America19.95% of youth labor force51stPanamaNorth America19.77% of youth labor force52ndEstoniaEurope19.7% of youth labor force53rdBelizeNorth America19.32% of youth labor force54thBahamasNorth America19.25% of youth labor force55thArgentinaSouth America19.19% of youth labor force56thUkraineEurope19.14% of youth labor force57thFranceEurope18.89% of youth labor force58thSri LankaAsia18.58% of youth labor force59thSouth SudanAfrica18.52% of youth labor force60thBarbadosNorth America18.48% of youth labor force61stSlovakiaEurope18.43% of youth labor force62ndEgyptAfrica18.29% of youth labor force63rdBruneiAsia18.23% of youth labor force64thBelgiumEurope17.78% of youth labor force65thColombiaNorth America17.65% of youth labor force66thMauritiusAfrica17.37% of youth labor force67thBhutanAsia17.05% of youth labor force68thAfghanistanAsia16.79% of youth labor force69thCroatiaEurope16.47% of youth labor force70thRwandaAfrica16.41% of youth labor force71stTurkeyEurope16.04% of youth labor force72ndIndiaAsia16.02% of youth labor force73rdChinaAsia15.79% of youth labor force74thEquatorial GuineaAfrica15.74% of youth labor force75thMaldivesAsia15.69% of youth labor force76thZimbabweAfrica15.55% of youth labor force77thKenyaAfrica15.25% of youth labor force78thFijiOceania15.21% of youth labor force79thKuwaitAsia15.06% of youth labor force80thUnited KingdomEurope14.65% of youth labor force81stTajikistanAsia14.59% of youth labor force82ndNew ZealandOceania14.36% of youth labor force83rdHungaryEurope14.21% of youth labor force84thPuerto RicoNorth America13.98% of youth labor force85thBrazilSouth America13.98% of youth labor force86thOmanAsia13.88% of youth labor force87thGuamOceania13.81% of youth labor force88thCanadaNorth America13.8% of youth labor force89thLithuaniaEurope13.76% of youth labor force90thNorwayEurope13.42% of youth labor force91stAzerbaijanEurope13.09% of youth labor force92ndIndonesiaAsia12.98% of youth labor force93rdSamoaOceania12.98% of youth labor force94thLatviaEurope12.95% of youth labor force95thCyprusEurope12.71% of youth labor force96thDominican RepublicNorth America12.31% of youth labor force97thSudanAfrica12% of youth labor force98thMalaysiaAsia11.95% of youth labor force99thDenmarkEurope11.74% of youth labor force100thMongoliaAsia11.71% of youth labor force101stParaguaySouth America11.69% of youth labor force102ndMozambiqueAfrica11.61% of youth labor force103rdUzbekistanAsia11.38% of youth labor force104thVanuatuOceania11.34% of youth labor force105thAustriaEurope11% of youth labor force106thGambiaAfrica10.86% of youth labor force107thJamaicaNorth America10.81% of youth labor force108thPolandEurope10.7% of youth labor force109thIrelandEurope10.49% of youth labor force110thZambiaAfrica10.47% of youth labor force111stVenezuelaNorth America10.44% of youth labor force112ndEritreaAfrica10.24% of youth labor force113rdBulgariaEurope10.15% of youth labor force114thCentral African RepublicAfrica10.09% of youth labor force115thTurkmenistanAsia10.02% of youth labor force116thSaudi ArabiaAsia10.01% of youth labor force117thMyanmarAsia9.8% of youth labor force118thAustraliaOceania9.6% of youth labor force119thPakistanAsia9.6% of youth labor force120thNicaraguaNorth America9.5% of youth labor force121stSloveniaEurope9.5% of youth labor force122ndPeruSouth America9.5% of youth labor force123rdBangladeshAsia9.4% of youth labor force124thUnited StatesNorth America9.3% of youth labor force125thCzechiaEurope9.2% of youth labor force126thBelarusEurope9.2% of youth labor force127thSwitzerlandEurope9.0% of youth labor force128thHong KongAsia9.0% of youth labor force129thNetherlandsEurope8.8% of youth labor force130thSao Tome and PrincipeAfrica8.8% of youth labor force131stComorosAfrica8.8% of youth labor force132ndIcelandEurope8.7% of youth labor force133rdHondurasNorth America8.5% of youth labor force134thMaltaEurope8.4% of youth labor force135thKyrgyzstanAsia8.2% of youth labor force136thTrinidad and TobagoNorth America8.2% of youth labor force137thEcuadorSouth America8.2% of youth labor force138thNorth KoreaAsia7.9% of youth labor force139thCongo, Democratic RepublicAfrica7.8% of youth labor force140thEl SalvadorNorth America7.8% of youth labor force141stRussiaEurope7.6% of youth labor force142ndPhilippinesAsia7.0% of youth labor force143rdGuineaAfrica7.0% of youth labor force144thMalawiAfrica6.9% of youth labor force145thGermanyEurope6.9% of youth labor force146thSingaporeAsia6.8% of youth labor force147thMacaoAsia6.8% of youth labor force148thSouth KoreaAsia6.7% of youth labor force149thCameroonAfrica6.5% of youth labor force150thUnited Arab EmiratesAsia6.5% of youth labor force151stBurkina FasoAfrica6.4% of youth labor force152ndVietnamAsia6.2% of youth labor force153rdIsraelAsia6.0% of youth labor force154thTongaOceania6.0% of youth labor force155thGhanaAfrica5.8% of youth labor force156thMexicoNorth America5.7% of youth labor force157thBahrainAsia5.4% of youth labor force158thEthiopiaAfrica5.4% of youth labor force159thNigeriaAfrica5.3% of youth labor force160thMadagascarAfrica5.2% of youth labor force161stBoliviaSouth America5.0% of youth labor force162ndGuatemalaNorth America4.8% of youth labor force163rdThailandAsia4.5% of youth labor force164thCubaNorth America4.3% of youth labor force165thMoldovaEurope4.2% of youth labor force166thUgandaAfrica4.2% of youth labor force167thCôte d'IvoireAfrica4.0% of youth labor force168thJapanAsia3.9% of youth labor force169thMaliAfrica3.9% of youth labor force170thKazakhstanAsia3.8% of youth labor force171stPapua New GuineaOceania3.8% of youth labor force172ndSierra LeoneAfrica3.7% of youth labor force173rdTimor-LesteAsia3.7% of youth labor force174thSenegalAfrica3.6% of youth labor force175thTogoAfrica3.4% of youth labor force176thBeninAfrica2.9% of youth labor force177thGuinea-BissauAfrica2.8% of youth labor force178thSolomon IslandsOceania2.8% of youth labor force179thLaosAsia2.4% of youth labor force180thTanzaniaAfrica2.4% of youth labor force181stLiberiaAfrica2.3% of youth labor force182ndBurundiAfrica1.7% of youth labor force183rdChadAfrica1.5% of youth labor force184thCambodiaAsia0.71% of youth labor force185thQatarAsia0.56% of youth labor force186thNigerAfrica0.46% of youth labor force
