Informal employment in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Informal employment was 33.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Informal employment in Costa Rica, 2014–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total non-agricultural employment.
Analysis
In 2025, informal employment in Costa Rica stood at 33.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.3% on the previous year and down 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Costa Rica peaked at 37.5% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 33.5%, in 2023.
That places Costa Rica 10th out of 45 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
Informal employment in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of total non-agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 37.1% | — |
| 2015 | 37.5% | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 35.8% | -4.5% |
| 2017 | 35.7% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 36.5% | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 37.3% | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 35.2% | -5.7% |
| 2021 | 37.2% | +5.8% |
| 2022 | 36.2% | -2.8% |
| 2023 | 33.5% | -7.4% |
| 2024 | 34.5% | +3.2% |
| 2025 | 33.8% | -2.3% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 33.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.7%, 7.2× the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 33.8% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 33.1%, 1.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 36.6% | 35.7% | 37.5% | 6 |
| 2020s | 35.0% | 33.5% | 37.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More work & labour data for Costa Rica
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.9965 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.9952 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.9977 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.61 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.29 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 5,205 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 569.35 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 1,908 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 1,868 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 3,776 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Costa Rica?
- Informal employment in Costa Rica was 33.8% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 37.5% in 2015.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.5% in 2023.
- How does Costa Rica rank for informal employment?
- Costa Rica ranks 10th out of 45 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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).