Brazil vs Costa Rica: Informal employment
Informal employment over time
- Brazil
- Costa Rica
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 33.8% against 32.5% in Brazil, a difference of 1.3%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 12 shared years of data; in 2014 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Brazil ranks 11th and Costa Rica ranks 10th of 45 countries.
Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Brazil | Costa Rica | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 33.9% | 36.6% | 2.7% | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 33.5% | 35.0% | 1.6% | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher informal employment, Brazil or Costa Rica?
- Costa Rica, at 33.8% against 32.5% in Brazil as of 2025.
- What is the difference in informal employment between Brazil and Costa Rica?
- 1.3%, with Costa Rica 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 11th and Costa Rica ranks 10th of 45 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as Informal employment (% of total non-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 non-agricultural activities out of total employment in non-agricultural activities, expressed as a percentage. Informal employment comprises workers 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).