Uruguay has the highest youth unemployment in Latin America: 25.1% of young people aged 15 to 24 who look for work cannot find it, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimate for 2025 published by the World Bank. It is followed by Chile (21.6%), Costa Rica (19.9%), Panama (19.8%) and Argentina (19.2%). The lowest rates are in Cuba (4.3%), Guatemala (4.8%) and Bolivia (5.0%).
The Latin America and Caribbean average is 12.2%, slightly above the OECD (11.6%) and below the world average (13.4%). In every country, youth unemployment is two to three times the overall rate: in Uruguay it is 3.3 times higher. This ranking will be updated on this same page when the ILO and the World Bank publish new data.
Ranking of youth unemployment in Latin America
| Rank | Country | Youth unemployment 15-24 (2025) | Total unemployment (2025) | Times the total | Youth in 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uruguay | 25.1% | 7.5% | 3.3 | 34.2% |
| 2 | Chile | 21.6% | 9.0% | 2.4 | 24.4% |
| 3 | Costa Rica | 19.9% | 6.8% | 2.9 | 40.1% |
| 4 | Panama | 19.8% | 8.4% | 2.4 | 33.0% |
| 5 | Argentina | 19.2% | 7.1% | 2.7 | 30.4% |
| 6 | Colombia | 17.7% | 8.3% | 2.1 | 27.2% |
| 7 | Brazil | 14.0% | 6.0% | 2.3 | 30.3% |
| 8 | Dominican Republic | 12.3% | 5.1% | 2.4 | 14.8% |
| 9 | Paraguay | 11.7% | 4.8% | 2.4 | 17.2% |
| 10 | Venezuela | 10.4% | 5.3% | 2.0 | 13.6% |
| 11 | Nicaragua | 9.5% | 5.0% | 1.9 | 11.4% |
| 12 | Peru | 9.5% | 5.1% | 1.8 | 12.7% |
| 13 | Honduras | 8.5% | 4.9% | 1.7 | 17.1% |
| 14 | Ecuador | 8.2% | 3.3% | 2.5 | 11.1% |
| 15 | El Salvador | 7.8% | 3.3% | 2.4 | 11.1% |
| 16 | Mexico | 5.7% | 2.7% | 2.1 | 8.1% |
| 17 | Bolivia | 5.0% | 3.0% | 1.7 | 15.2% |
| 18 | Guatemala | 4.8% | 2.6% | 1.8 | 5.2% |
| 19 | Cuba | 4.3% | 1.7% | 2.4 | 5.2% |
Source: World Bank, SL.UEM.1524.ZS (youth unemployment) and SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS (total unemployment), ILO modeled estimates; retrieved November 1, 2026. "Times the total": our own calculation. Nicaragua and Peru tie when rounded.
What the ILO youth unemployment rate measures and why it differs from official data
The ranking figure is an ILO modeled estimate, not the rate each statistics institute publishes. The ILO adjusts national surveys to a common definition (people aged 15 to 24 and international unemployment criteria) and fills in years or countries without a recent survey using models. That allows countries to be compared, but means the figure does not match each country's official one, which sometimes uses other age brackets.
| Country | ILO estimate 2025 (ages 15-24) | Latest official figure | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 17.7% | 15.2% among people aged 15 to 28 (June-August 2026), 0.4 points higher than a year earlier | DANE, youth labor market |
| Chile | 21.6% | INE does not publish the youth rate in its bulletin; it reports that employed people aged 15 to 24 fell 6.2% in a year (July-September 2026), with total unemployment of 9.8% | INE, ENE bulletin No. 336 |
| Mexico | 5.7% | Total unemployment of 2.8% in September 2026 | INEGI, ENOE |
Colombia shows the effect of the definition: DANE measures young people up to age 28, so its rate (15.2%) includes people aged 25 to 28 with more experience, who have lower unemployment. In Chile, the recent deterioration of the labor market, with 9.8% unemployment and more than a million jobless, hits the youngest hard: their employment fell 6.2% in a year, more than among 25 to 34-year-olds (−5.2%), the two brackets INE highlighted in its bulletin.
Why youth unemployment in Latin America is higher in the Southern Cone
The countries with the most youth unemployment (Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama and Argentina) are not the poorest in the region but among those with the highest income per person. A common explanation is informality: in countries such as Guatemala, Bolivia, Honduras or Mexico, many young people work in informal jobs or are self-employed, which counts as employment, and few can afford to look for work without income. That is why low unemployment does not equal good jobs.
- Uruguay: youth unemployment is triple the total (3.3 times), the widest gap in the region.
- Chile: 21.6% youth unemployment and 9.0% total in the ILO estimate for 2025, the highest total unemployment of the 19 countries.
- Mexico: 5.7%, one of the lowest, in a market with high informality.
- Costa Rica fell from 40.1% in 2020, the pandemic year, to 19.9% in 2025.
To see unemployment for the whole population, country by country, check the ranking of unemployment in Latin America. In Argentina, falling employment is also visible in the state: national public employment fell to 266,205 workers.
How joblessness among young people has changed since the pandemic
In 2020, youth unemployment soared across the region: it reached 40.1% in Costa Rica, 34.2% in Uruguay, 33.0% in Panama and 30.3% in Brazil. By 2025 it had fallen in all 19 countries, although in Chile (21.6% compared with 24.4% in 2020) the recovery was slower than in its neighbors. Brazil had the biggest improvement among the large economies, from 30.3% to 14.0%.
| Country | 2015 | 2020 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 19.5% | 30.3% | 15.7% | 14.0% |
| Mexico | 8.5% | 8.1% | 5.8% | 5.7% |
| Argentina | 20.3% | 30.4% | 19.2% | 19.2% |
| Colombia | 17.3% | 27.2% | 19.4% | 17.7% |
| Chile | 15.8% | 24.4% | 21.0% | 21.6% |
| Peru | 6.9% | 12.7% | 9.7% | 9.5% |
| Uruguay | 22.9% | 34.2% | 26.7% | 25.1% |
Source: World Bank, SL.UEM.1524.ZS, ILO modeled estimates. Chile is the only one of these countries where the 2025 rate is above the 2024 rate.
- Definition: unemployed people aged 15 to 24 as a percentage of the labor force of that age (those working or looking for work). Those who only study are not counted.
- Origin: ILO modeled estimates (ILOSTAT), published by the World Bank; revised every year.
- Limitation: in countries without a recent survey, such as Cuba or Venezuela, the figure depends more on the model.
How to cite this data
Vivarae News (2026). "Youth unemployment in Latin America 2026: ranking by country". Updated on November 1, 2026. Available at https://vivaraenews.com/en/youth-unemployment-in-latin-america-ranking-by-country-2026/. The data may be reproduced by citing Vivarae News and linking to this page; each country's figures belong to the ILO and the World Bank.
Frequently asked questions
Which Latin American country has the highest youth unemployment?
Uruguay, with 25.1% of people aged 15 to 24 in 2025, according to the ILO. It is followed by Chile (21.6%) and Costa Rica (19.9%).
What is youth unemployment in Chile?
21.6% in 2025 according to the ILO estimate, the second highest in the region. INE does not publish the youth rate in its monthly bulletin.
Which country has the lowest youth unemployment?
Cuba (4.3%), Guatemala (4.8%) and Bolivia (5.0%). In several of them, high informality explains low figures.
What is the Latin American average?
12.2% in 2025, compared with 11.6% in the OECD and 13.4% worldwide.
Why does the ILO figure not match the official one?
Because the ILO uses a common definition (ages 15 to 24) and models to compare countries; each national institute uses its own age brackets and methods.
