Data / Unemployment rate / South Africa

Unemployment rate in South Africa

Unemployment rate in South Africa was 32.39% in 2025, according to the World Bank. That is up 0.11 pts from 2024. That is the 2nd highest of 181 countries in 2025.

202532.39%
Change on 2024+0.11 pts
Rank2nd of 181Countries ranked
Series high34.012021
Series low22.262007

Unemployment rate in South Africa, 1991 to 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

2022.52527.53032.535199119962001200620112016202120251991: 23.14 %1992: 23.46 %1993: 23.36 %1994: 23.07 %1995: 22.71 %1996: 22.5 %1997: 22.55 %1998: 22.74 %1999: 22.88 %2000: 22.79 %2001: 22.65 %2002: 22.58 %2003: 22.68 %2004: 22.57 %2005: 22.47 %2006: 22.3 %2007: 22.26 %2008: 22.41 %2009: 23.52 %2010: 24.68 %2011: 24.64 %2012: 24.73 %2013: 24.56 %2014: 24.89 %2015: 25.15 %2016: 26.54 %2017: 27.04 %2018: 26.91 %2019: 28.47 %2020: 29.22 %2021: 34.01 %2022: 33.27 %2023: 32.1 %2024: 32.28 %2025: 32.39 %
%. Source: World Bank (modelled estimate). Retrieved 2026-10-09, published 2026-10-08.
All 35 values
Period%
202532.39
202432.28
202332.1
202233.27
202134.01
202029.22
201928.47
201826.91
201727.04
201626.54
201525.15
201424.89
201324.56
201224.73
201124.64
201024.68
200923.52
200822.41
200722.26
200622.3
200522.47
200422.57
200322.68
200222.58
200122.65
200022.79
199922.88
199822.74
199722.55
199622.5
199522.71
199423.07
199323.36
199223.46
199123.14

Rankings

Definition

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

How to cite

World Bank, World Development Indicators, modelled estimate. Unemployment, total, % of total labor force, modeled ILO estimate (SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

What is the unemployment rate in South Africa?

Unemployment rate in South Africa was 32.39% in 2025, according to the World Bank. That is up 0.11 pts from 2024. That is the 2nd highest of 181 countries in 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

World Bank. Unemployment, total, % of total labor force, modeled ILO estimate (SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-09.

What was the highest unemployment rate in South Africa?

34.01% in 2021, the highest value since 1991 in this series.

More statistics for South Africa

All statistics for South Africa