Informal employment, male in Panama
Panama: Informal employment, male was 50.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Informal employment, male in Panama, 2014–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total male non-agricultural employment.
Analysis
The most recent figure for informal employment, male in Panama is 50.7%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 4.0% on the previous year and up 20.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment, male in Panama peaked at 53.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 41.8%, in 2016.
Panama ranks 9th of 45 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Informal employment, male in Panama, year by year
| Year | % of total male non-agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 42.0% | — |
| 2015 | 42.0% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 41.8% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 43.1% | +3.2% |
| 2018 | 44.9% | +4.2% |
| 2019 | 46.6% | +3.8% |
| 2020 | 53.6% | +14.9% |
| 2021 | 51.1% | -4.5% |
| 2023 | 51.2% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 52.8% | +3.2% |
| 2025 | 50.7% | -4.0% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 50.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.3%, 9.7× the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Panama's 50.7% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 33.7%, 1.5× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 43.4% | 41.8% | 46.6% | 6 |
| 2020s | 51.9% | 50.7% | 53.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More work & labour data for Panama
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.192 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.1956 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.1888 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.09 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 4,652 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 1,175 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 2,950 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 2,955 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 5,905 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment, male in Panama?
- Informal employment, male in Panama was 50.7% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment, male recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 53.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest informal employment, male recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 41.8% in 2016.
- How does Panama rank for informal employment, male?
- Panama ranks 9th out of 45 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment, male rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Panama data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Informal employment, male (% of total male non-agricultural employment). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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).