Papua New Guinea Unemployment Rate
Unemployment as % of total labor force SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS
Overview
Papua New Guinea's unemployment rate stood at 2.57% in 2025, a decline of +0.05pp from 2024. Papua New Guinea ranked 25th globally.
Data & projection
| Year | Unemployment Rate | YoY change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.57% | −0.05pp | #25 |
| 2024 | 2.63% | −0.02pp | #28 |
| 2023 | 2.65% | −0.04pp | #28 |
| 2022 | 2.69% | −0.34pp | #28 |
| 2021 | 3.03% | +0.13pp | #28 |
| 2020 | 2.90% | +0.25pp | #25 |
| 2019 | 2.65% | +0.00pp | #31 |
| 2018 | 2.65% | +0.07pp | #28 |
| 2017 | 2.58% | +0.10pp | #26 |
| 2016 | 2.48% | −0.03pp | #23 |
| 2015 | 2.51% | −0.03pp | #26 |
| 2014 | 2.54% | −0.16pp | #26 |
| 2013 | 2.70% | +0.06pp | #26 |
| 2012 | 2.63% | +0.01pp | #24 |
| 2011 | 2.62% | +0.62pp | #22 |
Detected Pattern
Analysis
Papua New Guinea matched the Export Boom Cycle pattern in 2022. Historically, 71% of countries showing this pattern (546 out of 768) saw unemployment rate improve within 24 months. View full analysis →
Frequently Asked Questions
Papua New Guinea's unemployment rate was 2.57% in 2025. Ranked 25th globally. This represents a 2.1% decrease from the previous year.
Papua New Guinea's unemployment rate peaked at 3.03% in 2021.
The lowest unemployment rate in Papua New Guinea was 2.00% in 2010.
Papua New Guinea ranks 25th 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 Papua New Guinea in 2025 was 2.57%. This ranks 25th in the world.
Cite this page
@misc{historysaid_papua-new-guinea_unemployment-rate,
title = {Papua New Guinea Unemployment Rate},
url = {https://historysaid.com/papua-new-guinea/unemployment-rate},
publisher = {HistorySaid},
year = {2026}
}