Rwanda vs South Africa: Employment outside the formal sector
Employment outside the formal sector over time
- Rwanda
- South Africa
How they compare
Rwanda currently reports 5,401 against 5,255 in South Africa, a difference of 146.
Across all 8 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
Rwanda ranks 21st and South Africa ranks 22nd of 81 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Rwanda | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 2,872 | 4,948 | 2,076 | South Africa |
| 2020s | 3,497 | 4,634 | 1,137 | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher employment outside the formal sector, Rwanda or South Africa?
- Rwanda, at 5,401 against 5,255 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in employment outside the formal sector between Rwanda and South Africa?
- 146, with Rwanda ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Rwanda and South Africa?
- 8 years are reported by both, from 2017 to 2024.
- How do Rwanda and South Africa rank globally for employment outside the formal sector?
- Rwanda ranks 21st and South Africa ranks 22nd of 81 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Labour Organization, published as Employment outside the formal sector (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. This harmonized series for employment outside the formal sector is derived using the same set of criteria across countries to improve comparability. The criteria used are based on employment status, institutional sector, destination of production, bookkeeping, registration, social security contribution, places of work and size. Data disaggregated by occupation are provided according to the latest version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO). Data may have been regrouped from the national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISCO. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.