EU countries by unemployment rate

Name: EU countries by unemployment rate, 2016
Creator: Eurostat, European Commission
License: Eurostat reuse policy (commercial and non-commercial reuse, attribution required)

Greece had the highest unemployment rate of 27 EU countries in 2016, at 23.9%. Germany had the lowest, at 3.9%. The median was 7.9% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 9.3%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest23.9Greece

Lowest3.9Germany

Median7.927 EU countries

European Union (27)9.3History

All EU countries, 2016

CSV Chart (SVG)

%. Source: Eurostat. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2016 (%)	Change on 2015
1	Greece	23.9	-1.1 pts
2	Spain	19.6	-2.5 pts
3	Croatia	13	-3.2 pts
3	Cyprus	13	-2 pts
5	Italy	11.7	-0.3 pts
6	Portugal	11.5	-1.5 pts
7	France	10.1	-0.3 pts
8	Latvia	9.7	-0.2 pts
9	Slovakia	9.6	-1.9 pts
10	Finland	8.9	-0.5 pts
11	Bulgaria	8.6	-1.5 pts
12	Ireland	8.4	-1.5 pts
13	Slovenia	8	-1 pts
14	Belgium	7.9	-0.8 pts
14	Lithuania	7.9	-1.2 pts
16	Romania	7.2	-1.2 pts
17	Sweden	7.1	-0.4 pts
18	Netherlands	7	-0.9 pts
19	Estonia	6.8	+0.4 pts
20	Austria	6.5	+0.4 pts
21	Luxembourg	6.3	-0.4 pts
21	Poland	6.3	-1.4 pts
23	Denmark Series break	6	-0.3 pts
24	Hungary	5	-1.6 pts
25	Malta	4.7	-0.7 pts
26	Czechia	4	-1.1 pts
27	Germany	3.9	-0.5 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

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.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Unemployment by sex and age, annual data (une_rt_a). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/une_rt_a/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest unemployment rate?

Greece, with 23.9% in 2016, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest unemployment rate?

Germany, with 3.9% in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Unemployment by sex and age, annual data (une_rt_a). Retrieved 2026-10-08.