South Africa vs Uruguay: Share of employment outside the formal sector
Share of employment outside the formal sector over time
- South Africa
- Uruguay
How they compare
Uruguay currently reports 32.3 against 30.68 in South Africa, a difference of 1.62.
That makes Uruguay's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 19 shared years of data; in 2006 it was Uruguay ahead.
South Africa ranks 42nd and Uruguay ranks 40th of 81 countries.
Across the 3 decades both report, South Africa averaged higher in 2 and Uruguay in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | Uruguay | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 24.32 | 40.52 | 16.21 | Uruguay |
| 2010s | 29.09 | 27.62 | 1.47 | South Africa |
| 2020s | 29 | 24.14 | 4.86 | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of employment outside the formal sector, South Africa or Uruguay?
- Uruguay, at 32.3 against 30.68 in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of employment outside the formal sector between South Africa and Uruguay?
- 1.62, with Uruguay ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Uruguay?
- 19 years are reported by both, from 2006 to 2024.
- How do South Africa and Uruguay rank globally for share of employment outside the formal sector?
- South Africa ranks 42nd and Uruguay ranks 40th 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.