Unemployment Rate: São Tomé and Príncipe

Analysis# São Tomé and Príncipe Unemployment Rate São Tomé and Príncipe's unemployment rate stands at 13.5% as of 2017, representing a modest recovery from the all-time peak of 17.6% in 2002. The nation has experienced minimal net change since 1980, with a decline of only 0.7 percentage points over 37 years. The lowest recorded rate occurred in 2015 at 13.4%, placing the current figure just above that benchmark. A sustained downward trend emerged between 2008 and 2013, when unemployment fell from 15.7% to 13.5%—a significant 5-year improvement. Since 2013, the rate has stabilized near its structural floor, fluctuating between 13.4% and 13.5%. This plateau suggests the economy has reached an equilibrium unemployment level, with limited evidence of further decline or acceleration in the available data.