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Countries With the Fastest Growth in Unemployment rate (5-Year Change)

Change in Unemployment rate over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that rose are listed. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

Botswana rose the most: by 3.46 pts, from 21% of labour force to 24.5% of labour force in the five years to 2025. South Africa is second (+3.17 pts), followed by Finland (+1.7 pts). 31 countries rose over that period; the median change among them was +0.403 pts.

#1
Botswana · +3.46 pts
Median
+0.403 pts
Coverage
31 countries
Data year
2025
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: 5-year change (points)Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Botswana 3.46; 2. South Africa 3.17; 3. Finland 1.7; 4. Afghanistan 1.64; 5. Mozambique 1.61; 6. Myanmar 1.57; 7. Estonia 1.36; 8. Eswatini 1.22; 9. Vanuatu 1.03; 10. Romania 0.957.Botswana3.46South Africa3.17Finland1.7Afghanistan1.64Mozambique1.61Myanmar1.57Estonia1.36Eswatini1.22Vanuatu1.03Romania0.957
Top 10: 5-year change (points). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Botswana 3.46; 2. South Africa 3.17; 3. Finland 1.7; 4. Afghanistan 1.64; 5. Mozambique 1.61; 6. Myanmar 1.57; 7. Estonia 1.36; 8. Eswatini 1.22; 9. Vanuatu 1.03; 10. Romania 0.957.

Full ranking

Countries With the Fastest Growth in Unemployment rate (5-Year Change), 2025
RankCountryFromTo5-year change (points)
1Botswana2124.5+3.46 pts
2South Africa29.232.4+3.17 pts
3Finland7.769.46+1.7 pts
4Afghanistan11.713.4+1.64 pts
5Mozambique5.026.63+1.61 pts
6Myanmar1.483.05+1.57 pts
7Estonia6.968.31+1.36 pts
8Eswatini3334.2+1.22 pts
9Vanuatu4.055.07+1.03 pts
10Romania5.045.99+0.957 pts
11Gambia, The5.846.52+0.681 pts
12Zimbabwe8.629.29+0.676 pts
13Solomon Islands0.8681.43+0.563 pts
14Ukraine9.359.83+0.484 pts
15New Zealand4.65.08+0.481 pts
16Sweden8.298.69+0.403 pts
17Austria5.25.58+0.381 pts
18Georgia11.712.1+0.363 pts
19Belgium5.555.91+0.361 pts
20Oman2.943.25+0.311 pts
21Moldova1.211.51+0.299 pts
22Fiji5.055.35+0.293 pts
23Czechia2.552.83+0.275 pts
24United Kingdom4.474.75+0.274 pts
25Hungary4.254.52+0.273 pts
26Lebanon10.811+0.23 pts
27Norway4.424.64+0.213 pts
28Cambodia0.1720.263+0.091 pts
29Benin1.521.59+0.071 pts
30Switzerland4.824.87+0.056 pts
31Netherlands3.823.87+0.054 pts

About the top 10

#2 South Africa

South Africa ranks #2 on this list with +3.17 pts.

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

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

Change in Unemployment rate over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that rose are listed.

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

The World Bank: Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (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 (changes are computed from the published values). Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.