Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Panama
Panama: Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates was 8.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Panama, 1970–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Panama recorded 8.3% for unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.5% on the previous year and up 88.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Panama peaked at 18.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 2012.
Panama ranks 48th of 185 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Panama, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 7.1% | — |
| 1971 | 7.6% | +7.0% |
| 1972 | 6.8% | -10.6% |
| 1973 | 7.0% | +2.9% |
| 1974 | 5.8% | -17.1% |
| 1975 | 6.4% | +10.6% |
| 1976 | 6.7% | +4.0% |
| 1977 | 8.7% | +30.9% |
| 1978 | 8.1% | -7.7% |
| 1979 | 8.8% | +8.9% |
| 1982 | 8.4% | -4.2% |
| 1983 | 9.7% | +15.5% |
| 1984 | 10.1% | +3.8% |
| 1985 | 12.3% | +22.5% |
| 1986 | 10.5% | -14.7% |
| 1987 | 11.8% | +12.5% |
| 1988 | 16.3% | +37.9% |
| 1989 | 16.3% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 11.6% | -28.9% |
| 1991 | 16.1% | +39.0% |
| 1992 | 14.7% | -9.0% |
| 1993 | 13.3% | -9.6% |
| 1994 | 14.0% | +5.6% |
| 1995 | 14.0% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 14.3% | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 13.4% | -6.6% |
| 1998 | 14.0% | +4.9% |
| 1999 | 11.8% | -16.2% |
| 2000 | 13.5% | +15.1% |
| 2001 | 14.7% | +8.7% |
| 2002 | 14.1% | -4.1% |
| 2003 | 13.6% | -3.5% |
| 2004 | 12.4% | -8.6% |
| 2005 | 10.3% | -17.0% |
| 2006 | 9.1% | -11.8% |
| 2007 | 6.8% | -25.6% |
| 2009 | 5.1% | -24.7% |
| 2010 | 5.8% | +14.2% |
| 2011 | 3.9% | -32.8% |
| 2012 | 3.7% | -5.3% |
| 2013 | 3.7% | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 4.4% | +19.1% |
| 2015 | 4.4% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 4.8% | +10.0% |
| 2017 | 5.5% | +12.8% |
| 2018 | 5.3% | -2.7% |
| 2019 | 6.4% | +20.6% |
| 2020 | 18.5% | +189.4% |
| 2021 | 10.3% | -44.5% |
| 2022 | 8.3% | -19.5% |
| 2023 | 6.7% | -19.4% |
| 2024 | 8.6% | +28.9% |
| 2025 | 8.3% | -3.5% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 8.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.9%, 1.7× the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Panama's 8.3% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 6.3%, 1.3× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Panama changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +189.4% | 6.4% | 18.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.3% | 5.8% | 8.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.9% | 8.4% | 16.3% | 8 |
| 1990s | 13.7% | 11.6% | 16.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.1% | 5.1% | 14.7% | 9 |
| 2010s | 4.8% | 3.7% | 6.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.1% | 6.7% | 18.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More reference data data for Panama
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1446 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.6179 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.9793 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0285 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.9793 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4849 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2267 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.08 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1553 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Panama?
- Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Panama was 8.3% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 18.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 2012.
- How does Panama rank for unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates?
- Panama ranks 48th out of 185 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 88.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Panama data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of the labor force without work, but actively looking for a job and available to start soon. Figures refer to national estimates and may not be fully comparable across countries.