EU countries by unemployment rate

Name: EU countries by unemployment rate, 2018
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 2018, at 19.7%. Czechia had the lowest, at 2.2%. The median was 6% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 7.4%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest19.7Greece

Lowest2.2Czechia

Median627 EU countries

European Union (27)7.4History

All EU countries, 2018

CSV Chart (SVG)

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

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2018 (%)	Change on 2017
1	Greece	19.7	-2.1 pts
2	Spain	15.3	-1.9 pts
3	Italy Series break	10.6	-0.7 pts
4	France	9.1	-0.3 pts
5	Cyprus	8.4	-2.7 pts
6	Croatia	8.3	-2.8 pts
7	Finland	7.5	-1.2 pts
8	Latvia	7.4	-1.3 pts
9	Portugal	7.2	-2 pts
10	Slovakia	6.5	-1.6 pts
10	Sweden	6.5	-0.3 pts
12	Bulgaria	6.2	-1 pts
12	Lithuania	6.2	-0.9 pts
14	Belgium	6	-1.2 pts
15	Ireland	5.8	-0.9 pts
16	Luxembourg	5.6	+0.1 pts
17	Estonia	5.4	-0.4 pts
18	Romania	5.3	-0.8 pts
19	Austria	5.2	-0.7 pts
20	Denmark	5.1	-0.7 pts
20	Slovenia	5.1	-1.5 pts
22	Netherlands	4.9	-1 pts
23	Malta	4	0 pts
24	Poland	3.9	-1.1 pts
25	Hungary Series break	3.6	-0.4 pts
26	Germany	3.2	-0.3 pts
27	Czechia	2.2	-0.7 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 19.7% in 2018, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest unemployment rate?

Czechia, with 2.2% in 2018.

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.