Employment outside the formal sector in Ecuador
Ecuador: Employment outside the formal sector was 4,774 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Employment outside the formal sector in Ecuador, 2001–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2025, employment outside the formal sector in Ecuador stood at 4,774. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 38.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment outside the formal sector in Ecuador peaked at 4,774 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 3,117, in 2003.
Ecuador ranks 24th of 81 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Employment outside the formal sector in Ecuador, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 3,814 | — |
| 2003 | 3,117 | -18.3% |
| 2004 | 3,336 | +7.0% |
| 2005 | 3,404 | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 3,512 | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 3,455 | -1.6% |
| 2008 | 3,396 | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 3,347 | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 3,201 | -4.4% |
| 2011 | 3,210 | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 3,214 | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 3,376 | +5.1% |
| 2014 | 3,268 | -3.2% |
| 2015 | 3,436 | +5.1% |
| 2016 | 3,797 | +10.5% |
| 2017 | 3,989 | +5.1% |
| 2018 | 4,065 | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 4,190 | +3.1% |
| 2021 | 4,621 | +10.3% |
| 2022 | 4,677 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 4,584 | -2.0% |
| 2024 | 4,764 | +3.9% |
| 2025 | 4,774 | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3,423 | 3,117 | 3,814 | 8 |
| 2010s | 3,575 | 3,201 | 4,190 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4,684 | 4,584 | 4,774 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ecuador
More work & labour data for Ecuador
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.578 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.567 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.589 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.04 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.13 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 17,174 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 5,794 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 9,543 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 9,549 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 19,092 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment outside the formal sector in Ecuador?
- Employment outside the formal sector in Ecuador was 4,774 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest employment outside the formal sector recorded in Ecuador?
- The highest recorded value was 4,774 in 2025.
- What is the lowest employment outside the formal sector recorded in Ecuador?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,117 in 2003.
- How does Ecuador rank for employment outside the formal sector?
- Ecuador ranks 24th out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment outside the formal sector rising or falling in Ecuador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 38.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ecuador data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Employment outside the formal sector (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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 occupation are provided according to the latest version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO). Data may have been regrouped from the national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISCO. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.