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Countries Ranked by Youth unemployment rate in 2020

Youth unemployment rate for each country in 2020, ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

In 2020, Djibouti ranks #1 with 81.9% of labour force aged 15-24. South Africa is second with 59.6% of labour force aged 15-24, 37.4% behind. The top five are Djibouti, South Africa, Eswatini, Libya and St. Lucia. The median across all 187 is 15.2% of labour force aged 15-24; Cambodia is last at 0.474% of labour force aged 15-24.

#1
Djibouti · 81.9% of labour force aged 15-24
Median
15.2% of labour force aged 15-24
Coverage
187 countries
Data year
2020
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: Youth unemployment rateBar chart of the top 10: 1. Djibouti 81.9; 2. South Africa 59.6; 3. Eswatini 58.6; 4. Libya 53.6; 5. St. Lucia 51.6; 6. St. Vincent and the Grenadines 47.7; 7. Congo, Rep. 46.7; 8. New Caledonia 46.1; 9. Jordan 42.5; 10. West Bank and Gaza 42.1.Djibouti81.9South Africa59.6Eswatini58.6Libya53.6St. Lucia51.6St. Vincent and the Gre…47.7Congo, Rep.46.7New Caledonia46.1Jordan42.5West Bank and Gaza42.1
Top 10: Youth unemployment rate (% of labour force aged 15-24). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Djibouti 81.9; 2. South Africa 59.6; 3. Eswatini 58.6; 4. Libya 53.6; 5. St. Lucia 51.6; 6. St. Vincent and the Grenadines 47.7; 7. Congo, Rep. 46.7; 8. New Caledonia 46.1; 9. Jordan 42.5; 10. West Bank and Gaza 42.1.
Youth unemployment rate over time, top 5Djibouti: 62.5 in 1996 to 81.9 in 2020; South Africa: 42.1 in 1996 to 59.6 in 2020; Eswatini: 43.3 in 1996 to 58.6 in 2020; Libya: 45.6 in 1996 to 53.6 in 2020; St. Lucia: 25.9 in 1996 to 51.6 in 2020.020.540.961.481.9199620082020DjiboutiSouth AfricaEswatiniLibyaSt. Lucia
Youth unemployment rate over time, top 5 (% of labour force aged 15-24). Djibouti: 62.5 in 1996 to 81.9 in 2020; South Africa: 42.1 in 1996 to 59.6 in 2020; Eswatini: 43.3 in 1996 to 58.6 in 2020; Libya: 45.6 in 1996 to 53.6 in 2020; St. Lucia: 25.9 in 1996 to 51.6 in 2020.

Full ranking

Countries Ranked by Youth unemployment rate in 2020, 2020
RankCountryYouth unemployment rate (% of labour force aged 15-24)
1Djibouti81.9
2South Africa59.6
3Eswatini58.6
4Libya53.6
5St. Lucia51.6
6St. Vincent and the Grenadines47.7
7Congo, Rep.46.7
8New Caledonia46.1
9Jordan42.5
10West Bank and Gaza42.1
11Namibia41.5
12French Polynesia41.5
13Tunisia41.2
14Botswana40.4
15Costa Rica40.1
16Gabon39.7
17Haiti39.5
18Spain38.3
19Bosnia and Herzegovina37.9
20Syrian Arab Republic36.3
21Montenegro36.2
22Somalia, Fed. Rep.35.9
23Algeria35.8
24North Macedonia35.6
25Yemen, Rep.34.5
26Cabo Verde34.5
27Iraq34.5
28Uruguay34.2
29Virgin Islands (US)34.1
30Greece33.7
31Angola33.1
32Panama33
33Armenia32.1
34Guyana31
35Georgia30.9
36Argentina30.4
37Brazil30.3
38Barbados30
39Italy29.6
40Saudi Arabia29.6
41Suriname28.8
42Lesotho28.2
43Colombia27.2
44Brunei Darussalam26.9
45Morocco26.8
46Serbia26.6
47Lebanon26.6
48Albania26.4
49Mauritania25.5
50Sri Lanka25.4
51Mauritius25
52Türkiye24.9
53India24.7
54Chile24.4
55Nepal24.1
56Bahamas, The23.9
57Sweden23.9
58Iran, Islamic Rep.23.7
59Luxembourg23.2
60Portugal22.5
61Belize22.4
62Bhutan22
63South Sudan21.8
64Finland21.2
65Croatia20.7
66France20.4
67Canada20.1
68Jamaica20.1
69Sudan19.8
70Puerto Rico (US)19.6
71Lithuania19.6
72Slovak Republic19.4
73Ukraine19.4
74Kuwait19.1
75Cyprus18.5
76Egypt, Arab Rep.18.5
77Estonia18.4
78Samoa17.8
79Romania17.6
80Equatorial Guinea17.4
81Paraguay17.2
82Honduras17.1
83Russian Federation17
84Fiji16.7
85Maldives16.1
86Afghanistan16.1
87Rwanda15.9
88Channel Islands15.9
89Tajikistan15.7
90Hong Kong SAR, China15.5
91Guam15.4
92Belgium15.3
93Ireland15.3
94Bolivia15.2
95Azerbaijan15.1
96United States14.9
97Mongolia14.9
98Latvia14.9
99Indonesia14.8
100Dominican Republic14.8

Showing the top 100 of 187. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.

About the top 10

#2 South Africa

South Africa ranks #2 on this list with 59.6% of labour force aged 15-24.

Capital
Pretoria, Cape Town
Continent
Africa
Income group
Upper middle income
Population
64.75 million people (2025)
GDP
US$427.18 billion (2025)
GDP per person
US$6,598 (2025)
Life expectancy
66.3 years (2024)
Urban population
63.8% of population (2025)

Largest cities: City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Johannesburg, Cape Town.

Also ranks #2 in unemployment rate · #2 in youth unemployment rate · #2 in income share of richest 10%.

Full country profile

#6 St. Vincent and the Grenadines

St. Vincent and the Grenadines ranks #6 on this list with 47.7% of labour force aged 15-24.

Capital
Kingstown
Continent
North America
Income group
Upper middle income
Population
99,924 people (2025)
GDP
US$1.26 billion (2025)
GDP per person
US$12,562 (2025)
Life expectancy
71.4 years (2024)
Urban population
48% of population (2025)

Also ranks #3 in homicide rate · #5 in cereal yield · #6 in youth unemployment rate.

Full country profile

Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.

Related rankings

Source and method

Youth unemployment rate for each country in 2020, ranked from highest to lowest.

Source: The World Bank, indicator SL.UEM.1524.ZS. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

The World Bank: Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (modeled ILO estimate): ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO) (via World Development Indicators)

Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).

Values are shown as published. Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.