Employment outside the formal sector in Türkiye
Türkiye: Employment outside the formal sector was 8,344 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment outside the formal sector in Türkiye, 2000–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
The most recent figure for employment outside the formal sector in Türkiye is 8,344, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.6% on the previous year and down 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment outside the formal sector in Türkiye peaked at 11,133 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 8,190, in 2020.
That places Türkiye 16th out of 81 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Employment outside the formal sector in Türkiye, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 10,925 | — |
| 2002 | 11,133 | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 10,943 | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 9,888 | -9.6% |
| 2005 | 9,703 | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 9,619 | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 9,438 | -1.9% |
| 2008 | 9,234 | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 9,265 | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 9,691 | +4.6% |
| 2011 | 10,023 | +3.4% |
| 2012 | 9,510 | -5.1% |
| 2013 | 9,185 | -3.4% |
| 2014 | 9,013 | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 8,875 | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 9,038 | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 9,530 | +5.4% |
| 2018 | 9,567 | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 9,652 | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 8,190 | -15.1% |
| 2021 | 8,345 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | 8,227 | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 8,251 | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 8,652 | +4.9% |
| 2025 | 8,344 | -3.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10,016 | 9,234 | 11,133 | 9 |
| 2010s | 9,408 | 8,875 | 10,023 | 10 |
| 2020s | 8,335 | 8,190 | 8,652 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Türkiye
More work & labour data for Türkiye
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 31,966 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 54.63 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 38,497 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 8.78 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.51 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 95,928 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 41,171 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 49.84 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.6505 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 1.11 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment outside the formal sector in Türkiye?
- Employment outside the formal sector in Türkiye was 8,344 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest employment outside the formal sector recorded in Türkiye?
- The highest recorded value was 11,133 in 2002.
- What is the lowest employment outside the formal sector recorded in Türkiye?
- The lowest recorded value was 8,190 in 2020.
- How does Türkiye rank for employment outside the formal sector?
- Türkiye ranks 16th out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is employment outside the formal sector rising or falling in Türkiye?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Türkiye 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).
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.