Informal employment in El Salvador
El Salvador: Informal employment was 54.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Informal employment in El Salvador, 2020–2024
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total non-agricultural employment.
Analysis
The most recent figure for informal employment in El Salvador is 54.6%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of down 5.5% on the previous year and down 6.1% over five years.
El Salvador ranks 6th of 45 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Informal employment in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | % of total non-agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 58.2% | — |
| 2021 | 59.6% | +2.4% |
| 2022 | 58.1% | -2.4% |
| 2023 | 57.8% | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 54.6% | -5.5% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 54.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 29.1%, 1.9× the median. (10 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 54.6% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 33.1%, 1.6× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More work & labour data for El Salvador
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.8531 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.8121 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.893 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.72 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.2563 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 5,984 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 1,013 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 2,591 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 2,482 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 5,073 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in El Salvador?
- Informal employment in El Salvador was 54.6% in 2024, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 59.6% in 2021.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.6% in 2024.
- How does El Salvador rank for informal employment?
- El Salvador ranks 6th out of 45 countries with data for 2024.
- Where does this El Salvador 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.
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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).