After sinking to a two-decade low in 2023, global youth unemployment – covering the 15 to 24 age bracket – ticked up to 12.4 per cent in 2025, totalling 67 million jobless worldwide. Regional differencesYouth unemployment worsened or stayed flat in eight of 11 global subregions between 2023 and 2025, and 105 countries saw youth unemployment rise, compared with only 58 where it fell. The Arab States and North Africa continue to record the world’s highest youth unemployment rates at 26.2 and 22.6 per cent, respectively. The increase in the youth unemployment rate between 2023 and 2025 was most pronounced in North America, where the rate climbed from 8.3 per cent to 9.8 per cent. Northern, Southern and Western Europe saw smaller increases, but at 15 per cent, the overall rate of youth unemployment across the three subregions remained very high.