Brazil vs Costa Rica: Informal employment
Informal employment over time
- Brazil
- Costa Rica
How they compare
Brazil currently reports 74.0% against 55.6% in Costa Rica, a difference of 18.4%.
That makes Brazil's figure about 1.3 times Costa Rica's.
Across all 12 years both countries report, Brazil has been ahead every year.
Brazil ranks 13th and Costa Rica ranks 15th of 44 countries.
Brazil has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Brazil | Costa Rica | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 79.7% | 66.1% | 13.6% | Brazil |
| 2020s | 74.6% | 61.3% | 13.3% | Brazil |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher informal employment, Brazil or Costa Rica?
- Brazil, at 74.0% against 55.6% in Costa Rica as of 2025.
- What is the difference in informal employment between Brazil and Costa Rica?
- 18.4%, with Brazil ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and Costa Rica?
- 12 years are reported by both, from 2014 to 2025.
- How do Brazil and Costa Rica rank globally for informal employment?
- Brazil ranks 13th and Costa Rica ranks 15th of 44 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as Informal employment (% of total agricultural employment). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
This indicator shows the share of workers at working age in informal employment in agricultural activities out of total employment in agricultural activities, expressed as a percentage. Informal employment comprises persons whose main or secondary jobs are informal. For own-account workers and employers, informality is determined by enterprise characteristics (unincorporated, market-based, and unregistered); for contributing family workers, it is determined by the absence of written contracts and lack of coverage under labor legislation; and for employees, it is determined by whether the employment relationship is not subject to national labor legislation, income taxation, or social protection. The data are based on the statistical standards adopted by the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS).