EU countries by unemployment rate

Name: EU countries by unemployment rate, 2023
Creator: Eurostat, European Commission
License: Eurostat reuse policy (commercial and non-commercial reuse, attribution required)

Spain had the highest unemployment rate of 27 EU countries in 2023, at 12.2%. Czechia had the lowest, at 2.6%. The median was 5.6% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 6.1%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest12.2Spain

Lowest2.6Czechia

Median5.627 EU countries

European Union (27)6.1History

All EU countries, 2023

CSV Chart (SVG)

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

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2023 (%)	Change on 2022
1	Spain	12.2	-0.8 pts
2	Greece	11.1	-1.4 pts
3	Italy	7.7	-0.4 pts
3	Sweden	7.7	+0.2 pts
5	France	7.4	+0.1 pts
6	Finland	7.2	+0.4 pts
7	Lithuania	6.9	+0.9 pts
8	Latvia	6.5	-0.4 pts
8	Portugal	6.5	+0.3 pts
10	Estonia	6.4	+0.8 pts
11	Croatia	6.1	-0.7 pts
12	Cyprus	5.8	-0.5 pts
12	Slovakia	5.8	-0.3 pts
14	Romania	5.6	0 pts
15	Belgium	5.5	-0.1 pts
16	Luxembourg	5.2	+0.6 pts
17	Austria	5.1	+0.3 pts
17	Denmark Series break	5.1	+0.6 pts
19	Bulgaria	4.3	+0.1 pts
19	Ireland	4.3	-0.2 pts
21	Hungary	4.1	+0.5 pts
22	Slovenia	3.7	-0.3 pts
23	Netherlands	3.6	+0.1 pts
24	Malta	3.5	0 pts
25	Germany	3.1	0 pts
26	Poland	2.8	-0.1 pts
27	Czechia	2.6	+0.4 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?

Spain, with 12.2% in 2023, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest unemployment rate?

Czechia, with 2.6% in 2023.

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.