Informal employment in Chile
Chile: Informal employment was 25.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Informal employment in Chile, 2014–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total non-agricultural employment.
Analysis
Chile recorded 25.3% for informal employment in 2025.
The figure is down 4.2% on the previous year and down 32.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Chile peaked at 38.3% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 24.8%, in 2020.
That places Chile 14th out of 45 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 Chile, year by year
| Year | % of total non-agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 37.6% | — |
| 2015 | 37.5% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 38.3% | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 27.7% | -27.7% |
| 2018 | 26.8% | -3.2% |
| 2019 | 26.9% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 24.8% | -7.7% |
| 2021 | 26.6% | +7.3% |
| 2022 | 26.5% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 26.3% | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 26.4% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 25.3% | -4.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 32.4% | 26.8% | 38.3% | 6 |
| 2020s | 26.0% | 24.8% | 26.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Chile
More work & labour data for Chile
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -1.14 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -1.14 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -1.15 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.62 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.2334 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 19,028 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 1,690 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 6,735 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 6,695 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 13,431 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Chile?
- Informal employment in Chile was 25.3% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Chile?
- The highest recorded value was 38.3% in 2016.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Chile?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.8% in 2020.
- How does Chile rank for informal employment?
- Chile ranks 14th out of 45 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Chile?
- Over the last ten years it is down 32.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Chile data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Informal employment (% of total non-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 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).