Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates was 3.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Saudi Arabia, 1992–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 3.2% for unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.
That represents a change of down 8.0% on the previous year and down 42.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Saudi Arabia peaked at 7.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.2%, in 2025.
Saudi Arabia ranks 141st of 185 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 7.2% | — |
| 1999 | 4.3% | -39.3% |
| 2000 | 4.6% | +5.2% |
| 2001 | 4.6% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 5.3% | +14.0% |
| 2003 | 5.6% | +5.7% |
| 2004 | 5.8% | +4.7% |
| 2005 | 6.1% | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 6.3% | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 5.7% | -8.3% |
| 2008 | 5.1% | -11.3% |
| 2009 | 5.4% | +5.7% |
| 2010 | 5.5% | +3.2% |
| 2012 | 5.6% | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 5.6% | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 5.9% | +4.9% |
| 2015 | 5.6% | -4.7% |
| 2016 | 5.6% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 5.9% | +5.2% |
| 2018 | 6.0% | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 5.6% | -6.5% |
| 2020 | 7.7% | +35.9% |
| 2021 | 6.6% | -13.6% |
| 2022 | 5.6% | -15.6% |
| 2023 | 4.0% | -28.3% |
| 2024 | 3.5% | -12.2% |
| 2025 | 3.2% | -8.0% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 3.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.9%, 66% of the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 3.2% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 7.0%, 47% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Saudi Arabia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | -39.3% | 7.2% | 4.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.8% | 4.3% | 7.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 5.4% | 4.6% | 6.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.7% | 5.5% | 6.0% | 9 |
| 2020s | 5.1% | 3.2% | 7.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More reference data data for Saudi Arabia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1847 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1771 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6194 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2207 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9641 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Saudi Arabia?
- Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Saudi Arabia was 3.2% 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.2% in 2025.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 141st out of 185 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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 — 27 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.