Informal employment in Brazil
Brazil: Informal employment was 74.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Informal employment in Brazil, 2014–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total agricultural employment.
Analysis
The most recent figure for informal employment in Brazil is 74.0%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and down 12.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Brazil peaked at 84.7% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 73.9%, in 2023.
That places Brazil 13th out of 44 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
Informal employment in Brazil, year by year
| Year | % of total agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 84.7% | — |
| 2015 | 84.3% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 78.2% | -7.3% |
| 2017 | 77.7% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 76.9% | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 76.2% | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 75.0% | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 76.0% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 75.1% | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 73.9% | -1.6% |
| 2024 | 73.9% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 74.0% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 79.7% | 76.2% | 84.7% | 6 |
| 2020s | 74.6% | 73.9% | 76.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
- 10 Zambia 92.3% compare
- 11 Panama 92.2% compare
- 12 Zimbabwe 86.6% compare
- 14 Republic of Moldova 62.0% compare
- 15 Costa Rica 55.6% compare
- 16 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 50.7% compare
More work & labour data for Brazil
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.7328 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.7065 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.7581 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.74 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.1001 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 215,063 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 17,625 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 82,304 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 81,060 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 163,364 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Brazil?
- Informal employment in Brazil was 74.0% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 84.7% in 2014.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 73.9% in 2023.
- How does Brazil rank for informal employment?
- Brazil ranks 13th out of 44 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Brazil data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Informal employment (% of total agricultural employment). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 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 agricultural activities out of total employment in agricultural activities, expressed as a percentage. Informal employment comprises persons 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).