India: 8.3% of adults with a degree are unemployed, against 1.3% with basic education
Yet both work almost equally often: 61.7% and 65.0% of people aged 25+ (2025 survey). Nigeria in 2024 has almost the same numbers: 8.3% and 1.3%.
More
Unemployment and employment are different shares. Unemployment is the share seeking work among those working or seeking; employment is the share at work among everyone. So people with a degree can have several times the unemployment rate while working almost as often as people with basic education.
Blue bars: people with a degree; orange: with basic education (up to lower secondary). The first pair is unemployment (% of labour force), the second the share at work (% of all people aged 25+).
- India: unemployment 25+, degree / basic (2025) % of labour force
8.3 / 1.3
- India: at work, 25+, degree / basic (2025) % of population
61.7 / 65.0
- Nigeria: unemployment 25+, degree / basic (2024) % of labour force
8.3 / 1.3
ILO, ILOSTAT: UNE_DEAP_SEX_AGE_EDU_RT_A and EMP_DWAP_SEX_AGE_EDU_RT_A, aged 25+, both sexes, India's labour force survey (ILO code BA:14121) of 2025. Levels are the ILO aggregate of the national classification.
One country in one year; «basic» includes people with a few years of school. Work here is any work, including informal work and on one's own farm. The data do not say why graduates are more often looking for work.
A question for this picture
In how many countries is unemployment higher among people with a degree?