Unemployment rate (2008) | Unemployment rate (2003) | ||
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Afghanistan | 40% (2005 est.) | NA% |
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Albania | 13% official rate, but may exceed 30% due to preponderance of near-subsistence farming (2007 est.) | 17% officially; may be as high as 30% (2001 est.) |
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Algeria | 14.1% (2007 est.) | 31% (2002 est.) |
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American Samoa | 29.8% (2005) | 6% (2000) |
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Andorra | 0% (1996 est.) | 0% |
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Angola | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) |
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Anguilla | 8% (2002) | 6.7% (2001) |
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Antigua and Barbuda | 11% (2001 est.) | 11% (2001 est.) |
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Argentina | 8.9% (2007 est.) | 21.5% (37377) |
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Armenia | 7.1% (2007 est.) | 20% (2001 est.) |
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Aruba | 6.9% (2005 est.) | 0.6% |
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Australia | 4.4% (November 2007 est.) | 6.3% (2002) |
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Austria | 4.3% (2007 est.) | 4.8% (2002 est.) |
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Azerbaijan | 8.5% official rate (2005 est.) | 16% (official rate is 1.2%) (2003 est.) |
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Bahamas, The | 7.6% (2006 est.) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
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Bahrain | 15% (2005 est.) | 15% (1998 est.) |
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Bangladesh | 2.5% (includes underemployment) (2007 est.) | 40% (includes underemployment) (2002 est.) |
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Barbados | 10.7% (2003 est.) | 10% (2001 est.) |
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Belarus | 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
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Belgium | 7.6% (2007 est.) | 7.2% (2002 est.) |
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Belize | 9.4% (2006) | 9.1% (2002) |
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Benin | NA% | NA% |
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Bermuda | 2.1% (2004 est.) | 4.5% (1993) |
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Bhutan | 2.5% (2004) | NA% |
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Bolivia | 8% in urban areas; widespread underemployment (2006) | 7.6%
note: widespread underemployment (2000) |
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Bosnia and Herzegovina | 45.5% official rate; grey economy may reduce actual unemployment to 25-30% (31 December 2004 est.) | 40% (2002 est.) |
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Botswana | 23.8% (2004) | 40% (official rate is 21%) (2001 est.) |
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Brazil | 9.8% (2007 est.) | 6.4% (2001 est.) |
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British Virgin Islands | 3.6% (1997) | 3% (1995) |
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Brunei | 4% (2006) | 10% (2001 est.) |
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Bulgaria | 8% (2007 est.) | 18% (2002 est.) |
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Burkina Faso | 77% | NA% |
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Burma | 5.2% (2007 est.) | 5.1% (2001 est.) |
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Burundi | NA% | NA% |
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Cambodia | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 2.8% (1999 est.) |
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Cameroon | 30% (2001 est.) | 30% (2001 est.) |
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Canada | 5.9% (2007 est.) | 7.6% (2002 est.) |
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Cape Verde | 21% (2000 est.) | 21% (2000 est.) |
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Cayman Islands | 4.4% (2004) | 4.1% (1997) |
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Central African Republic | 8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.) | 8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.) |
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Chad | NA% | NA% |
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Chile | 7% (2007 est.) | 9.2% (2002) |
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China | 4% unemployment in urban areas; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2007 est.) | urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2002 est.) |
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Christmas Island | - | NA% |
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Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 60% (2000 est.) | 60% (2000 est.) |
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Colombia | 10.6% (2007 est.) | 17.4% (2002 est.) |
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Comoros | 20% (1996 est.) | 20% (1996 est.) |
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Congo, Democratic Republic of the | NA% | NA% |
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Congo, Republic of the | NA% | NA% |
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Cook Islands | 13.1% (2005) | 13% (1996) |
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Costa Rica | 5.5% (2007 est.) | 6.3% (2002 est.) |
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Cote d'Ivoire | unemployment may have climbed to 40-50% as a result of the civil war | 13% in urban areas (1998) |
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Croatia | 11.8% (2007 est.) | 21.7% (2002 est.) |
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Cuba | 1.9% (2007 est.) | 4.1% (2001 est.) |
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Cyprus | area under government control: 3.8% (2005 est.)
area administered by Turkish Cypriots: 5.6% (2004 est.) (2007 est.) |
Greek Cypriot area: 3.3%; Turkish Cypriot area: 5.6% (2002 est.) |
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Czech Republic | 6.6% (2007 est.) | 9.8% (2002) |
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Denmark | 3.5% (2007 est.) | 5.1% (2002) |
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Djibouti | 59% in urban areas, 83% in rural areas (2007 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
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Dominica | 23% (2000 est.) | 23% (2000 est.) |
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Dominican Republic | 15.5% (2007 est.) | 14.5% (2002 est.) |
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East Timor | - | 50% (including underemployment) |
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Ecuador | 9.8% (2007 est.) | 7.7%; note - widespread underemployment (2001 est.) |
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Egypt | 10.1% (2007 est.) | 12% (2001 est.) |
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El Salvador | 6.6% official rate; but the economy has much underemployment (2007 est.) | 10% - but the economy has much underemployment. (2001 est.) |
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Equatorial Guinea | 30% (1998 est.) | 30% (1998 est.) |
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Eritrea | NA% | NA% |
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Estonia | 5.2% (2007 est.) | 12.4% (2001) |
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Ethiopia | NA% | NA% |
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European Union | 8.5% (2006 est.) | - |
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Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) | full employment; labor shortage (2001) | full employment; labor shortage |
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Faroe Islands | 2.1% (2006) | 1% (October 2000) |
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Fiji | 7.6% (1999) | 7.6% (1999) |
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Finland | 6.6% (2007 est.) | 8.5% (2002 est.) |
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France | 8% (2007 est.) | 9.1% (2002 est.) |
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French Guiana | - | 22% (2001) |
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French Polynesia | 11.7% (2005) | 11.8% (1994) |
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Gabon | 21% (2006 est.) | 21% (1997 est.) |
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Gambia, The | NA% | NA% |
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Gaza Strip | 34.8% (2006) | 50% (includes West Bank) (2002 est.) |
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Georgia | 13.6% (2006 est.) | 17% (2001 est.) |
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Germany | 9.1%
note: this is the International Labor Organization's estimated rate for international comparisons; Germany's Federal Employment Office estimated a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.8% (2007 est.) |
9.8% (2002 est.) |
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Ghana | 11% (2000 est.) | 20% (1997 est.) |
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Gibraltar | 3% (2005 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
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Greece | 8.4% (2007 est.) | 10.3% (2002 est.) |
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Greenland | 9.3% (2005 est.) | 10% (2000 est.) |
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Grenada | 12.5% (2000) | 12.5% (2000) |
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Guadeloupe | - | 27.8% (1998) |
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Guam | 11.4% (2002 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
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Guatemala | 3.2% (2005 est.) | 7.5% (1999 est.) |
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Guernsey | 0.9% (March 2006 est.) | 0.5% (1999 est.) |
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Guinea | NA% | NA% |
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Guinea-Bissau | NA% | NA% |
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Guyana | 9.1% (understated) (2000) | 9.1% (understated) (2000) |
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Haiti | widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.) | widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.) |
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Honduras | 27.8% (2007 est.) | 28% (2002 est.) |
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Hong Kong | 4.2% (2007 est.) | 7.5% (2002 est.) |
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Hungary | 7.1% (2007 est.) | 5.8% (2002 est.) |
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Iceland | 1% (2007 est.) | 2.8% (2002 est.) |
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India | 7.2% (2007 est.) | 8.8% (2002) |
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Indonesia | 9.7% (2007 est.) | 10.6% (2002 est.) |
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Iran | 11% according to the Iranian government (June 2007) | 16.3% (2003 est.) |
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Iraq | 18% to 30% (2006 est.) | NA% |
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Ireland | 5% (2007 est.) | 4.3% (2002 est.) |
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Isle of Man | 1.5% (December 2006 est.) | 0.7% (March 2003) |
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Israel | 7.6% (2007 est.) | 10.4% (2002 est.) |
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Italy | 6.7% (2007 est.) | 9.1% (2002 est.) |
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Jamaica | 10.2% (2007 est.) | 15.4% (2002 est.) |
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Japan | 4% (2007 est.) | 5.4% (2002) |
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Jersey | 2.2% (2006 est.) | 0.7% (1998 est.) |
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Jordan | 13.5% official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30% (2007 est.) | 16% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (2001 est.) |
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Kazakhstan | 7.1% (2007 est.) | 8.8% (2002 est.) |
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Kenya | 40% (2001 est.) | 40% (2001 est.) |
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Kiribati | 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
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Korea, North | NA% | NA% |
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Korea, South | 3.2% (2007 est.) | 3.1% (2002 est.) |
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Kosovo | 50% (2007 est.) | - |
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Kuwait | 2.2% (2004 est.) | 7% (2002 est.) |
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Kyrgyzstan | 18% (2004 est.) | 7.2% (1999 est.) |
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Laos | 2.4% (2005 est.) | 5.7% (1997 est.) |
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Latvia | 5.9% (2007 est.) | 7.6% (2001 est.) |
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Lebanon | 20% (2006 est.) | 18% (1997 est.) |
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Lesotho | 45% (2002) | 45% (2002) |
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Liberia | 85% (2003 est.) | NA |
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Libya | 30% (2004 est.) | 30% (2001) |
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Liechtenstein | 1.3% (September 2002) | 1.3% (37500) |
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Lithuania | 3.2%
note: based on survey data, official registered unemployment of 5.7% (2007 est.) |
12.5% (2001 est.) |
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Luxembourg | 4.4% (2007 est.) | 4.1% (2002 est.) |
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Macau | 3.1% (2006) | 6.3% (2002) |
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Macedonia | 35% (2007 est.) | - |
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Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of | - | 37% (2002 est.) |
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Madagascar | - | 5.9% (1998) |
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Malawi | NA% | NA% |
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Malaysia | 3.1% (2007 est.) | 3.8% (2002 est.) |
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Maldives | NEGL% (2003 est.) | NEGL% |
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Mali | 14.6% (2001 est.) | 14.6% urban areas; 5.3% rural areas (2001 est.) |
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Malta | 6.8% (2005 est.) | 7% (2002 est.) |
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Marshall Islands | 30.9% (2000 est.) | 30.9% (1999 est.) |
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Martinique | - | 27.2% (1998) |
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Mauritania | 20% (2004 est.) | 21% (1999 est.) |
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Mauritius | 9.2% (2007 est.) | 8.8% (2002 est.) |
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Mayotte | 25.4% (2005) | 38% (1999) |
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Mexico | 3.7% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2007 est.) | urban - 3% plus considerable underemployment (2002) |
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Micronesia, Federated States of | 22% (2000 est.) | 16% (1999 est.) |
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Moldova | 2.1%; note - roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad (2007 est.) | 8% (roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (2002 est.) |
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Monaco | 0% (2005) | 3.1% (1998) |
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Mongolia | 3.2% (2006) | 20% (2000) |
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Montenegro | 14.7% (2007 est.) | - |
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Montserrat | 6% (1998 est.) | 6% (1998 est.) |
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Morocco | 15% (2007 est.) | 19% (2002 est.) |
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Mozambique | 21% (1997 est.) | 21% (1997 est.) |
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Namibia | 5.3% (2006 est.) | 35% (1998) |
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Nauru | 90% (2004 est.) | 0% |
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Nepal | 42% (2004 est.) | 47% (2001 est.) |
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Netherlands | 4.5% (2007 est.) | 3% (2002 est.) |
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Netherlands Antilles | 17% (2002 est.) | 15% (1998 est.) |
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New Caledonia | 17.1% (2004) | 19% (1996) |
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New Zealand | 3.5% (2007 est.) | 5.3% (2002 est.) |
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Nicaragua | 5.6% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2007 est.) | 24% plus considerable underemployment (2002 est.) |
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Niger | NA% | NA% |
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Nigeria | 5.8% (2006 est.) | 28% (1992 est.) |
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Niue | 12% (2001) | NA% |
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Norfolk Island | - | NA% |
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Northern Mariana Islands | 3.9% (2001) | NA% |
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Norway | 2.4% (2007 est.) | 3.9% (2002 est.) |
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Oman | 15% (2004 est.) | NA% |
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Pakistan | 7.5% plus substantial underemployment (2007 est.) | 7.8% plus substantial underemployment (2002 est.) |
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Palau | 4.2% (2005 est.) | 2.3% (2000 est.) |
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Panama | 7.2% (2007 est.) | 16% (2002 est.) |
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Papua New Guinea | 1.9% up to 80% in urban areas (2004) | NA% |
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Paraguay | 11.4% (2007 est.) | 18.2% (2002 est.) |
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Peru | 7.4% in metropolitan Lima; widespread underemployment (2007 est.) | 9.4%; widespread underemployment (2002 est.) |
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Philippines | 7.3% (2007 est.) | 10.2% (2002) |
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Pitcairn Islands | - | NA% |
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Poland | 12.8% (2007 est.) | 18.1% (2002) |
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Portugal | 8% (2007 est.) | 4.7% (2002 est.) |
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Puerto Rico | 12% (2002) | 12% (2002) |
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Qatar | 0.7% (2007 est.) | 2.7% (2001) |
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Reunion | - | 36% (1999 est.) |
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Romania | 4.5% (2007 est.) | 8.3% (2002) |
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Russia | 5.9% (November 2007 est.) | 7.9% plus considerable underemployment (2002) |
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Rwanda | NA% | NA% |
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Saint Helena | 14% (1998 est.) | 14% (1998 est.) |
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Saint Kitts and Nevis | 4.5% (1997) | 4.5% (1997) |
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Saint Lucia | 20% (2003 est.) | 16.5% (1997 est.) |
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Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 10.3% (1999) | 9.8% (1997) |
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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 15% (2001 est.) | 22% (1997 est.) |
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Samoa | NA% | NA%; note - substantial underemployment |
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San Marino | 3.8% (2004) | 2.6% (2001) |
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Sao Tome and Principe | NA% | NA% |
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Saudi Arabia | 13% among Saudi males only (local bank estimate; some estimates range as high as 25%) (2004 est.) | 25% (2002) |
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Senegal | 48%; note - urban youth 45% (2001 est.) | 48% (urban youth 40%) (2001 est.) |
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Serbia | 18.8% (2007 est.) | - |
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Serbia and Montenegro | - | 32% (2002 est.) |
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Seychelles | NA% | NA% |
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Sierra Leone | NA% | NA% |
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Singapore | 1.7% (2007 est.) | 4.6% (2002 est.) |
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Slovakia | 8.6% (2007 est.) | 17.2% (2002 est.) |
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Slovenia | 4.6% (2007 est.) | 11% (2002 est.) |
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Solomon Islands | NA% | NA% |
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Somalia | NA% | NA% |
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South Africa | 24.2% (2007 est.) | 37% (includes workers no longer looking for employment) (2001 est.) |
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Spain | 7.6% (2007 est.) | 11.3% (2002 est.) |
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Sri Lanka | 6.3% (2007 est.) | 8% (2002) |
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Sudan | 18.7% (2002 est.) | 18.7% (2002 est.) |
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Suriname | 9.5% (2004) | 17% (2000) |
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Swaziland | 40% (2006 est.) | 34% (2000 est.) |
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Sweden | 4.5% (2007 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
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Switzerland | 3.1% (2007 est.) | 1.9% (2002 est.) |
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Syria | 10% (2007 est.) | 20% (2002 est.) |
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Taiwan | 3.9% (2007) | 5.2% (2002 est.) |
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Tajikistan | 12% (2004 est.) | 40% (2002 est.) |
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Tanzania | NA% | NA% |
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Thailand | 1.7% (2007 est.) | 2.9% (2002 est.) |
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Timor-Leste | 50% estimated; note - unemployment in urban areas reached 20%; data do not include underemployed (2001 est.) | - |
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Togo | NA% | NA% |
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Tokelau | NA% | NA% |
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Tonga | 13% (FY03/04 est.) | 13.3% (1996 est.) |
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Trinidad and Tobago | 6% (2007 est.) | 10.8% (2002) |
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Tunisia | 13.9% (2007 est.) | 15.4% (2002 est.) |
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Turkey | 9.7% plus underemployment of 4% (2007 est.) | 10.8% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2002 est.) |
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Turkmenistan | 60% (2004 est.) | NA% |
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Turks and Caicos Islands | 10% (1997 est.) | 10% (1997 est.) |
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Tuvalu | NA% | NA% |
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Uganda | NA% | NA% |
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Ukraine | 2.5% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers; the International Labor Organization calculates that Ukraine's real unemployment level is nearly 7% (2007 est.) | 3.8% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (2002) |
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United Arab Emirates | 2.4% (2001) | NA% |
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United Kingdom | 5.4% (2007 est.) | 5.2% (2002 est.) |
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United States | 4.6% (2007 est.) | 5.8% (2002) |
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Uruguay | 9.2% (2007 est.) | 19.4% (2002) |
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Uzbekistan | 0.8% officially by the Ministry of Labor, plus another 20% underemployed (2007 est.) | 10% plus another 20% underemployed (1999 est.) |
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Vanuatu | 1.7% (1999) | NA% |
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Venezuela | 9.1% (2007 est.) | 17% (2002 est.) |
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Vietnam | 5.1% (2007 est.) | 25% (1995 est.) |
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Virgin Islands | 6.2% (2004) | 4.9% (March 1999) |
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Wallis and Futuna | 15.2% (2003) | NA% |
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West Bank | 18.6% (2006) | 50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.) |
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Western Sahara | NA% | NA% |
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World | 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2007 est.) | 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment |
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Yemen | 35% (2003 est.) | 30% (1995 est.) |
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Zambia | 50% (2000 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
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Zimbabwe | 80% (2005 est.) | 70% (2002 est.) |