COUNTRY / INDICATOR
Afghanistan Youth Unemployment
Afghanistan youth unemployment: latest available value for 2025, historical series from 2016, ranking context and source documentation.
Series overview
SL.UEM.1524.ZS| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 16,79 | -0,45 |
| 2024 | 17,24 | -0,26 |
| 2023 | 17,49 | -0,05 |
| 2022 | 17,54 | 1,53 |
| 2021 | 16,01 | -0,04 |
| 2020 | 16,05 | 0,53 |
| 2019 | 15,52 | -0,88 |
| 2018 | 16,40 | -0,91 |
| 2017 | 17,31 | 2,38 |
| 2016 | 14,93 | — |
Source methodology
World Development IndicatorsIndicator note: Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 without work but available for and seeking employment.
Source organization: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: January 17, 2026
Metadata fetched: 2026-07-31 04:56:25. Open original metadata response.
Country-specific interpretation
Automatically derived from the displayed seriesAfghanistan recorded 16,79 percent in 2025, the latest year available in this series.
Compared with 2024, the youth unemployment decreased by 0,45.
Across the latest five-year comparison window, the series shows an upward direction.
Across 10 observations from 2016 to 2025, the average was 16,53; the minimum was 14,93 in 2016 and the maximum was 17,54 in 2022.
Afghanistan ranks 120 out of 187 countries with a current value in the portal ranking.
The latest value is below the available average for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan.
It is also above the available average for the Low income group.
Labor-market access for young people.