Drops of Knowledge – Discovering Black Sea Facts & Figures
Unemployment in the wider Black Sea region
20 July 2026
The ICBSS publishes a set of infographics with data on unemployment across the 13 BSEC countries, focusing on two indicators of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.
SDG8 | Indicator 8.5.2: Unemployment Rate (% of people ages 15+)
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- For five BSEC countries, the unemployment rate for people aged 15+ ranges from 8% to 8.8%. The Republic of North Macedonia has the highest unemployment rate at 11.5%, while the Republic of Moldova has the lowest at 1.3%.
- For eight BSEC countries, the rate of female unemployment is higher than the rate of male unemployment (for ages 15+). Türkiye has the highest difference between these two rates, at 4.5%. [Graph 1]
SDG8 | Indicator 8.5.2: Unemployment Rate (% of persons with disabilities)
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- The unemployment rate for Persons with Disabilities across the BSEC countries is significantly higher than the total unemployment rate. Furthermore, the fact that four countries have no data, three countries have incomplete data, while the most recent data for two countries is from the previous decade, underscores the lack of visibility and the systemic exclusion of persons with disabilities across the wider Black Sea region.
- Serbia and Greece have the highest unemployment rates for Persons with Disabilities, at 57.3% and 27.8% respectively. Only six BSEC countries have complete data on this indicator (i.e. total, male, female). For four of them, the male unemployment rate is higher than the female unemployment rate. [Graph 2]
SDG8 | Indicator 8.6.1: Proportion of youth aged 15 to 24 years not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) by sex (%)
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- For the youth (15 -24 y.o.) not in education, employment or training (NEET), there has been a notable increase in the percentage across the 13 BSEC countries when compared to the total unemployment rate. Türkiye has the highest percentage of the NEET rate, at 23.3%, with Albania following at 21%. The Russian Federation and the Republic of Moldova have the lowest percentages, at 6.7% and 9.1%, respectively.
- For ten BSEC countries, the female NEET rate is higher than the male NEET rate. Türkiye has the highest difference between these two rates, at 14.6%. [Graph 3]
Source:
ILOSTAT - https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/?cat_mode=subject
Last accessed on 16 July 2026.
