The 10 African Countries with the Lowest Unemployment Rates

This list is courtesy of stats obtained from various sources such as Statista, Trading Economics, The World Bank, International Labour Organisation, etc.

Many countries in Africa have an unemployment problem. And a common feature of this problem is that it affects mainly the youth. A 2017 article published by the United Nations Africa Renewal Magazine warned that Africa’s youth unemployment crisis had cast a dark shadow over the continent’s economic growth. As much as 60% of the youth population across Africa are unemployed.

Also, a recent analysis on Foreign Policy titled “Africa’s Youth Unemployment Crisis Is a Global Problem” warned that Africa’s unemployment problem is becoming a thing of global concern.

As you may know, Africa currently has the world’s youngest population. While this presents a huge labour opportunity, “the dire employment situation for young people across Africa continues to snuff out their potential.”

Despite these warnings, the unemployment crisis in Africa has persisted. It is, however, pertinent to note that some countries have it worse than others.

Earlier, we published a separate article on African countries with the highest unemployment rates. These countries are South Africa, Nigeria, Lesotho, Gabon, Somalia and Tunisia. And now, we are focusing on 10 African countries with the lowest unemployment rates, as you will see shortly.

But first, what is unemployment?

Investopedia defines unemployment as “a situation when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work. Unemployment is considered to be a key measure of the health of the economy. The most frequent measure of unemployment is the unemployment rate, which is the number of unemployed people divided by the number of people in the labour force.”

Kindly note that while compiling this list, we different sources, including Statista, Trading Economics, The World Bank, International Labour Organisation and the statistics agencies of some African countries.

Below are 10 African countries with the lowest unemployment rates

Niger: This West African country has an unemployment rate of 0.8%. The estimated population in this country is 24.2 million.
Benin: In the second place, we have Benin with an unemployment rate of 1.5%. The estimated population in Benin is 12.1 million.
Rwanda: The unemployment rate in Rwanda is 1.6%. The country has an estimated population of about 13.2 million.
Burundi: The unemployment rate in this East African country is 1.8%. The estimated population in this country is 12.8 million.
Chad: Chad has an unemployment rate of 1.9%. Chad’s estimated population is 16.9 million.
Madagascar: This country has an unemployment rate of 2.6%. The country also has an estimated population is 28.4 million.
Tanzania: Tanzania has an unemployment rate of 2.6%. The country’s estimated population is 61.4 million.
Uganda: The unemployment rate in this country is 2.9%. Uganda has an estimated population of 47.1 million.
Cote d’Ivoire: This West African country has an unemployment rate of 3.5%. Its estimated population is 27 million.
Senegal: Senegal’s unemployment rate is 3.7%. The country’s estimated population is 17.1 million.