South Africa vs Sri Lanka: Employment outside the formal sector
Employment outside the formal sector over time
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 5,255 against 4,660 in Sri Lanka, a difference of 595.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.1 times Sri Lanka's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 14 shared years of data; in 2010 it was Sri Lanka ahead.
South Africa ranks 22nd and Sri Lanka ranks 25th of 81 countries.
Sri Lanka has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4,543 | 4,796 | 252.67 | Sri Lanka |
| 2020s | 4,634 | 4,761 | 127.22 | Sri Lanka |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher employment outside the formal sector, South Africa or Sri Lanka?
- South Africa, at 5,255 against 4,660 in Sri Lanka as of 2024.
- What is the difference in employment outside the formal sector between South Africa and Sri Lanka?
- 595, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Sri Lanka?
- 14 years are reported by both, from 2010 to 2024.
- How do South Africa and Sri Lanka rank globally for employment outside the formal sector?
- South Africa ranks 22nd and Sri Lanka ranks 25th 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.