Angola recorded a reduction in the unemployment rate to 28.3% in 2025, compared to 31.5% in 2024, but the labor market remains marked by high informality and a youth unemployment rate above 50%.
According to the 2025 Employment Survey released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the employed population increased by 9.6%, equivalent to an additional 1.17 million people.
Despite this positive evolution, 78.8% of workers remained in the informal economy, a proportion that is even higher in rural areas, at approximately 95%.
Youth unemployment remains the main challenge, affecting 51.8% of the Angolan population between the ages of 15 and 24.
Read more: Angola still faces challenges in adequate access to food
The primary sector absorbed about 46% of the workforce, followed by the tertiary sector with 44.8%, while industries, construction, energy, and water represent only 9.2%.
The data further indicate that the unemployed are, on average, 25.9 years old and are mostly women, who represent 53.2% of the total.
The 2025 results were calculated based on the first three quarters due to methodological changes in the fourth quarter that “limit their direct comparability with the first three quarters of the same year,” the report states.
