Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) was 5.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) recorded 5.1% for unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in 2025.
That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and down 6.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) peaked at 6.6% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 5.0%, in 2024.
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 13th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 6.5% | — |
| 1992 | 6.5% | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 6.6% | +0.9% |
| 1994 | 6.5% | -1.3% |
| 1995 | 6.3% | -3.2% |
| 1996 | 6.2% | -2.3% |
| 1997 | 6.1% | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 6.1% | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 6.2% | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 6.1% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 6.0% | -1.7% |
| 2002 | 5.9% | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 5.8% | -2.0% |
| 2004 | 5.6% | -2.7% |
| 2005 | 5.5% | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 5.4% | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 5.4% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 5.4% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 5.4% | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 5.5% | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 5.5% | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 5.4% | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 5.3% | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 5.3% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 5.5% | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 5.6% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 5.7% | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 5.8% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 5.9% | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 6.3% | +6.1% |
| 2021 | 6.2% | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 5.3% | -14.0% |
| 2023 | 5.1% | -4.1% |
| 2024 | 5.0% | -1.4% |
| 2025 | 5.1% | +1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.3% | 6.1% | 6.6% | 9 |
| 2000s | 5.7% | 5.4% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.6% | 5.3% | 5.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.5% | 5.0% | 6.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
More education data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 196.79 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 81.42 million (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 5.14 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.4% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9733 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1526 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.4% (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) was 5.1% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment, male (% of male labor force) recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 6.6% in 1993.
- What is the lowest unemployment, male (% of male labor force) recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.0% in 2024.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank for unemployment, male (% of male labor force)?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 13th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment, male (% of male labor force) rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.