Youth unemployment remains a major challenge globally, with significant differences across regions, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Data from the Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026 report shows that Arab States recorded the highest youth unemployment rate in 2025 at 26.2 per cent, followed by Northern Africa at 22.6 per cent.
Northern, Southern and Western Europe ranked third at 15 per cent, while Eastern Asia and Southern Asia recorded rates of 14.6 per cent and 14.3 per cent, respectively.
Central and Western Asia posted a rate of 13.1 per cent, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean at 11.9 per cent and Eastern Europe at 11.1 per cent.
Northern America recorded 9.8 per cent, while South-Eastern Asia and the Pacific stood at 9.5 per cent.
Sub-Saharan Africa had the lowest rate among the listed subregions at 8.4 per cent.
Globally, youth unemployment rose slightly from 12.3 per cent in 2023 to 12.4 per cent in 2025.
