Afghanistan Unemployment Rate
Unemployment as % of total labor force SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS
Overview
Afghanistan's unemployment rate stood at 13.35% in 2025, a decline of +0.34pp from 2024. Afghanistan ranked 162nd globally.
Data & projection
| Year | Unemployment Rate | YoY change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13.35% | −0.34pp | #162 |
| 2024 | 13.69% | −0.32pp | #170 |
| 2023 | 14.01% | −0.09pp | #171 |
| 2022 | 14.10% | +2.09pp | #168 |
| 2021 | 12.01% | +0.30pp | #153 |
| 2020 | 11.71% | +0.52pp | #147 |
| 2019 | 11.19% | −0.01pp | #152 |
| 2018 | 11.19% | +0.01pp | #152 |
| 2017 | 11.18% | +1.07pp | #149 |
| 2016 | 10.12% | +1.08pp | #141 |
| 2015 | 9.03% | +1.12pp | #128 |
| 2014 | 7.92% | −0.01pp | #117 |
| 2013 | 7.92% | +0.05pp | #114 |
| 2012 | 7.88% | +0.04pp | #113 |
| 2011 | 7.83% | +0.02pp | #115 |
Detected Pattern
Analysis
Afghanistan matched the Stagflation Risk pattern in 2022. Historically, 38% of countries showing this pattern (117 out of 307) saw unemployment rate improve within 24 months. View full analysis →
Frequently Asked Questions
Afghanistan's unemployment rate was 13.35% in 2025. Ranked 162nd globally. This represents a 2.5% decrease from the previous year.
Afghanistan's unemployment rate peaked at 14.10% in 2022.
The lowest unemployment rate in Afghanistan was 7.79% in 2004.
Afghanistan ranks 162nd globally in unemployment rate as of 2025.
The World Bank indicator code is SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS. Data sourced from World Bank.
The unemployment rate of Afghanistan in 2025 was 13.35%. This ranks 162nd in the world.
Cite this page
@misc{historysaid_afghanistan_unemployment-rate,
title = {Afghanistan Unemployment Rate},
url = {https://historysaid.com/afghanistan/unemployment-rate},
publisher = {HistorySaid},
year = {2026}
}