Colombia vs Mexico: Share of employment outside the formal sector
Share of employment outside the formal sector over time
- Colombia
- Mexico
How they compare
Mexico currently reports 47.78 against 46.78 in Colombia, a difference of 1.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 17 shared years of data; in 2008 it was Colombia ahead.
Colombia ranks 29th and Mexico ranks 27th of 81 countries.
Colombia has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Colombia | Mexico | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 63.68 | 46.2 | 17.48 | Colombia |
| 2010s | 60.37 | 46.14 | 14.23 | Colombia |
| 2020s | 50.1 | 47.83 | 2.27 | Colombia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of employment outside the formal sector, Colombia or Mexico?
- Mexico, at 47.78 against 46.78 in Colombia as of 2026.
- What is the difference in share of employment outside the formal sector between Colombia and Mexico?
- 1, with Mexico ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Colombia and Mexico?
- 17 years are reported by both, from 2008 to 2025.
- How do Colombia and Mexico rank globally for share of employment outside the formal sector?
- Colombia ranks 29th and Mexico ranks 27th of 81 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Labour Organization, published as Share of 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 economic activity are provided according to the latest version of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) available for that year. Data may have been regrouped from national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISIC. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.