Informal employment (% of total non-agricultural employment) by country
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,...
What the numbers show
Informal employment (% of total non-agricultural employment) is currently reported for 45 countries. The highest value is 89.9% in Angola; the lowest is 1.0% in Switzerland.
The median across all reporting countries is 6.3%, and the mean is 20.7%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 87.
Over the past decade 17 countries rose and 23 fell. The largest increase was in Hungary (up 572.3%), and the largest decrease in Czechia (down 79.0%).
Informal employment: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angola | 89.9% | 2025 | up 19.9% | rising |
| 2 | Rwanda | 79.0% | 2025 | up 15.9% | rising |
| 3 | Zimbabwe | 69.8% | 2024 | down 5.6% | falling |
| 4 | Botswana | 69.5% | 2024 | up 4.3% | rising |
| 5 | Zambia | 59.8% | 2024 | down 5.6% | flat |
| 6 | El Salvador | 54.6% | 2024 | — | falling |
| 7 | Jordan | 53.1% | 2024 | up 23.2% | rising |
| 8 | Viet Nam | 52.3% | 2024 | — | falling |
| 9 | Panama | 50.3% | 2025 | up 22.1% | rising |
| 10 | Costa Rica | 33.8% | 2025 | down 10.0% | falling |
| 11 | Brazil | 32.5% | 2025 | down 2.4% | flat |
| 12 | Uruguay | 31.3% | 2025 | up 33.0% | rising |
| 13 | Georgia | 25.7% | 2024 | — | flat |
| 14 | Chile | 25.3% | 2025 | down 32.6% | falling |
| 15 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 19.5% | 2018 | — | rising |
| 16 | Mongolia | 19.1% | 2025 | down 12.0% | falling |
| 17 | Armenia | 19.0% | 2024 | down 37.5% | falling |
| 18 | Russian Federation | 17.7% | 2025 | up 7.7% | flat |
| 19 | Italy | 10.8% | 2024 | up 225.4% | rising |
| 20 | Republic of Moldova | 10.2% | 2025 | down 14.4% | falling |
| 21 | Latvia | 8.4% | 2024 | up 111.6% | volatile |
| 22 | Hungary | 8.2% | 2020 | up 572.3% | volatile |
| 23 | Slovakia | 6.3% | 2024 | down 57.4% | falling |
| 24 | Serbia | 6.2% | 2025 | — | falling |
| 25 | Denmark | 6.2% | 2019 | down 41.0% | falling |
| 26 | Luxembourg | 6.0% | 2024 | up 453.0% | volatile |
| 27 | Estonia | 5.6% | 2024 | up 198.6% | volatile |
| 28 | Netherlands | 5.4% | 2024 | down 54.2% | falling |
| 29 | Portugal | 5.2% | 2024 | down 9.6% | rising |
| 30 | Croatia | 4.7% | 2024 | up 143.8% | rising |
| 31 | Lithuania | 4.4% | 2024 | up 347.4% | volatile |
| 32 | Spain | 3.9% | 2024 | down 22.7% | falling |
| 33 | Slovenia | 3.8% | 2024 | down 10.4% | falling |
| 34 | Ireland | 3.7% | 2024 | down 21.3% | falling |
| 35 | Sweden | 3.7% | 2024 | up 15.3% | rising |
| 36 | Czechia | 3.7% | 2024 | down 79.0% | falling |
| 37 | Greece | 3.6% | 2024 | down 18.9% | falling |
| 38 | France | 3.6% | 2024 | down 39.3% | falling |
| 39 | Bulgaria | 3.6% | 2024 | down 34.2% | flat |
| 40 | Austria | 3.3% | 2024 | up 187.9% | volatile |
| 41 | Belgium | 3.1% | 2024 | down 31.9% | falling |
| 42 | Cyprus | 2.6% | 2024 | down 74.7% | falling |
| 43 | Norway | 2.0% | 2024 | down 55.7% | falling |
| 44 | Finland | 1.9% | 2024 | down 71.6% | falling |
| 45 | Switzerland | 1.0% | 2024 | up 76.3% | rising |
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).