Costa Rica vs Panama: Informal employment
Informal employment over time
- Costa Rica
- Panama
How they compare
Panama currently reports 50.3% against 33.8% in Costa Rica, a difference of 16.5%.
That makes Panama's figure about 1.5 times Costa Rica's.
Across all 11 years both countries report, Panama has been ahead every year.
Costa Rica ranks 10th and Panama ranks 9th of 45 countries.
Panama has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Panama | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 36.6% | 43.0% | 6.3% | Panama |
| 2020s | 34.8% | 50.6% | 15.8% | Panama |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher informal employment, Costa Rica or Panama?
- Panama, at 50.3% against 33.8% in Costa Rica as of 2025.
- What is the difference in informal employment between Costa Rica and Panama?
- 16.5%, with Panama ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Panama?
- 11 years are reported by both, from 2014 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and Panama rank globally for informal employment?
- Costa Rica ranks 10th and Panama ranks 9th 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).