South Africa · Annual SERIES
Unemployment in South Africa
Share of the labor force without work who are available for and seeking employment, from the ILO modeled estimates series.
32.39%% of the labor force (modeled ILO estimate)
2025Observation year
+0.11 pp from 2024
% of the labor force (modeled ILO estimate) · World Bank · Missing observations remain gaps.
Underlying data
Download CSV| Year | Value | Status & source note |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 32.391 | present |
| 2024 | 32.279 | present |
| 2023 | 32.098 | present |
| 2022 | 33.268 | present |
| 2021 | 34.007 | present |
| 2020 | 29.217 | present |
| 2019 | 28.468 | present |
| 2018 | 26.906 | present |
| 2017 | 27.035 | present |
| 2016 | 26.536 | present |
| 2015 | 25.149 | present |
| 2014 | 24.89 | present |
| 2013 | 24.561 | present |
| 2012 | 24.727 | present |
| 2011 | 24.639 | present |
| 2010 | 24.683 | present |
| 2009 | 23.523 | present |
| 2008 | 22.407 | present |
| 2007 | 22.26 | present |
| 2006 | 22.304 | present |
| 2005 | 22.472 | present |
| 2004 | 22.567 | present |
| 2003 | 22.679 | present |
| 2002 | 22.579 | present |
| 2001 | 22.652 | present |
| 2000 | 22.788 | present |
Definition & method
ILO modeled estimates combine nationally reported observations with modeled values and projections to provide consistent series coverage. The labor force includes employed and unemployed people.
Share of the labor force without work who are available for and seeking employment, from the ILO modeled estimates series.
What to keep in mind
- This is the modeled ILO series, not the national headline unemployment release.
- People outside the labor force are excluded from the denominator.
- WDI does not identify every imputed observation in this response. Cross-country ranking and comparison are disabled because ILO warns against comparing imputed observations.
- Differences between rates are measured in percentage points.