Informal employment in Russian Federation
Russian Federation: Informal employment was 47.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Informal employment in Russian Federation, 2014–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total agricultural employment.
Analysis
In 2025, informal employment in Russian Federation stood at 47.1%.
That represents a change of up 5.2% on the previous year and down 12.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Russian Federation peaked at 55.3% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 44.2%, in 2023.
Russian Federation ranks 18th of 44 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
Informal employment in Russian Federation, year by year
| Year | % of total agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 51.4% | — |
| 2015 | 53.7% | +4.4% |
| 2016 | 55.3% | +3.0% |
| 2017 | 48.2% | -12.9% |
| 2018 | 49.9% | +3.7% |
| 2019 | 49.2% | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 47.5% | -3.5% |
| 2021 | 47.8% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 45.6% | -4.7% |
| 2023 | 44.2% | -3.0% |
| 2024 | 44.8% | +1.3% |
| 2025 | 47.1% | +5.2% |
Russian Federation compared with similar countries
- Russian Federation's 47.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 16.7%, 2.8× the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Russian Federation's 47.1% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 16.7%, 2.8× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 51.3% | 48.2% | 55.3% | 6 |
| 2020s | 46.2% | 44.2% | 47.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Russian Federation
More work & labour data for Russian Federation
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 48,131 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 59.78 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 71,526 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 1.83 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.04 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 89,043 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 23,578 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 58.68 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.81 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -0.8326 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Russian Federation?
- Informal employment in Russian Federation was 47.1% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Russian Federation?
- The highest recorded value was 55.3% in 2016.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Russian Federation?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.2% in 2023.
- How does Russian Federation rank for informal employment?
- Russian Federation ranks 18th out of 44 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Russian Federation?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Russian Federation 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.
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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).