Unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural in South Africa

South Africa: Unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural was 0.3% in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
0.3%
Change on year
up 8.9%
World rank
4th
of 94 countries
All-time high
0.5%
in 2002
All-time low
0.2%
in 2000
Years of data
19
1995–2020

Unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural in South Africa, 1995–2020

00.20.40.61995200720201995: 0.36 % of rural labor force in working age2000: 0.249 % of rural labor force in working age2001: 0.254 % of rural labor force in working age2002: 0.511 % of rural labor force in working age2003: 0.284 % of rural labor force in working age2004: 0.285 % of rural labor force in working age2008: 0.273 % of rural labor force in working age2009: 0.269 % of rural labor force in working age2010: 0.275 % of rural labor force in working age2011: 0.27 % of rural labor force in working age2012: 0.273 % of rural labor force in working age2013: 0.256 % of rural labor force in working age2014: 0.258 % of rural labor force in working age2015: 0.262 % of rural labor force in working age2016: 0.275 % of rural labor force in working age2017: 0.305 % of rural labor force in working age2018: 0.304 % of rural labor force in working age2019: 0.319 % of rural labor force in working age2020: 0.347 % of rural labor force in working age

Source: World Bank. Measured in % of rural labor force in working age.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 0.3% for unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural in 2020.

That represents a change of up 8.9% on the previous year and up 26.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural in South Africa peaked at 0.5% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2000.

That places South Africa 4th out of 94 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.

Unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural (% of rural labor force in working age) in South Africa, 1995 to 2020.
Year % of rural labor force in working age Change
1995 0.4%
2000 0.2% -30.7%
2001 0.3% +2.1%
2002 0.5% +100.9%
2003 0.3% -44.4%
2004 0.3% +0.1%
2008 0.3% -4.0%
2009 0.3% -1.4%
2010 0.3% +2.0%
2011 0.3% -1.8%
2012 0.3% +1.3%
2013 0.3% -6.3%
2014 0.3% +0.6%
2015 0.3% +1.9%
2016 0.3% +4.7%
2017 0.3% +10.9%
2018 0.3% -0.4%
2019 0.3% +4.9%
2020 0.3% +8.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1
2000s 0.3% 0.2% 0.5% 7
2010s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 10
2020s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 1

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 1 Gambia 0.5% compare
  2. 2 Kosovo 0.4% compare
  3. 2 Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) 0.4% compare
  4. 5 Croatia 0.3% compare
  5. 6 Spain 0.3% compare
  6. 7 Bulgaria 0.3% compare

See the full ranking of 94 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural in South Africa?
Unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural in South Africa was 0.3% in 2020, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.5% in 2002.
What is the lowest unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2000.
How does South Africa rank for unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural?
South Africa ranks 4th out of 94 countries with data for 2020.
Is unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 26.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural (% of rural labor force in working age). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural in South Africa. Statizoid. Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/unemployment-rate-aged-15-64-rural-percent-of-rural-labor-force-in-working-age/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/unemployment-rate-aged-15-64-rural-percent-of-rural-labor-force-in-working-age/south-africa/">Unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Unemployment rate, aged 15-64, rural (% of rural labor force in working age)
Unit
% of rural labor force in working age
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
94 places, 1,311 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed