Informal employment, female in Bulgaria

Bulgaria: Informal employment, female was 2.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
2.8%
Change on year
down 48.4%
World rank
41st
of 45 countries
All-time high
5.5%
in 2023
All-time low
1.4%
in 2017
Years of data
11
2014–2024

Informal employment, female in Bulgaria, 2014–2024

1234562014201920242014: 4 % of total female non-agricultural employment2015: 2.9 % of total female non-agricultural employment2016: 4.1 % of total female non-agricultural employment2017: 1.4 % of total female non-agricultural employment2018: 1.7 % of total female non-agricultural employment2019: 1.7 % of total female non-agricultural employment2020: 2.7 % of total female non-agricultural employment2021: 5 % of total female non-agricultural employment2022: 4.6 % of total female non-agricultural employment2023: 5.5 % of total female non-agricultural employment2024: 2.8 % of total female non-agricultural employment

Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total female non-agricultural employment.

Analysis

Bulgaria recorded 2.8% for informal employment, female in 2024.

The figure is down 48.4% on the previous year and down 29.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, informal employment, female in Bulgaria peaked at 5.5% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.4%, in 2017.

That places Bulgaria 41st out of 45 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.

Informal employment, female in Bulgaria, year by year

Annual values for Informal employment, female (% of total female non-agricultural employment) in Bulgaria, 2014 to 2024.
Year % of total female non-agricultural employment Change
2014 4.0%
2015 2.9% -28.8%
2016 4.1% +44.6%
2017 1.4% -67.2%
2018 1.7% +22.0%
2019 1.7% +5.2%
2020 2.7% +56.8%
2021 5.0% +85.3%
2022 4.6% -8.2%
2023 5.5% +19.0%
2024 2.8% -48.4%

Bulgaria compared with similar countries

  • Bulgaria's 2.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.2%, 68% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
  • Bulgaria's 2.8% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4.1%, 69% of the median. (31 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 2.6% 1.4% 4.1% 6
2020s 4.2% 2.7% 5.5% 5

Countries ranked near Bulgaria

  1. 38 Slovenia 3.2% compare
  2. 39 Ireland 3.2% compare
  3. 40 Sweden 3.1% compare
  4. 42 Cyprus 2.6% compare
  5. 43 Norway 1.7% compare
  6. 44 Finland 1.5% compare

See the full ranking of 45 places →

More work & labour data for Bulgaria

All data for Bulgaria →

Frequently asked questions

What is informal employment, female in Bulgaria?
Informal employment, female in Bulgaria was 2.8% in 2024, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
What is the highest informal employment, female recorded in Bulgaria?
The highest recorded value was 5.5% in 2023.
What is the lowest informal employment, female recorded in Bulgaria?
The lowest recorded value was 1.4% in 2017.
How does Bulgaria rank for informal employment, female?
Bulgaria ranks 41st out of 45 countries with data for 2024.
Is informal employment, female rising or falling in Bulgaria?
Over the last ten years it is down 29.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Informal employment, female (% of total female non-agricultural employment). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Informal employment, female in Bulgaria. Statizoid, drawing on Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/informal-employment-female-percent-of-total-female-non-agricultural-employment/bulgaria/

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About this data

Indicator
Informal employment, female (% of total female non-agricultural employment)
Unit
% of total female non-agricultural employment
Source
Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
45 places, 426 data points, 2014–2025
Last refreshed

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).