Informal employment in Republic of Moldova
Republic of Moldova: Informal employment was 10.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Informal employment in Republic of Moldova, 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 Republic of Moldova stood at 10.2%. That is the lowest value across all 12 years on record.
The figure is down 4.7% on the previous year and down 14.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Republic of Moldova peaked at 12.2% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 10.2%, in 2025.
Republic of Moldova ranks 20th of 45 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 Republic of Moldova, year by year
| Year | % of total non-agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 12.0% | — |
| 2015 | 11.9% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 12.2% | +2.9% |
| 2017 | 11.3% | -7.7% |
| 2018 | 11.9% | +5.8% |
| 2019 | 11.9% | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 10.3% | -13.4% |
| 2021 | 11.1% | +7.8% |
| 2022 | 10.9% | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 11.2% | +2.9% |
| 2024 | 10.7% | -4.6% |
| 2025 | 10.2% | -4.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 11.8% | 11.3% | 12.2% | 6 |
| 2020s | 10.7% | 10.2% | 11.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Republic of Moldova
More work & labour data for Republic of Moldova
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 654.38 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 72.49 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 1,725 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 1.5 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.726 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 24,890 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 5,854 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 71.4 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) -0.868 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -0.4043 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Republic of Moldova?
- Informal employment in Republic of Moldova was 10.2% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Republic of Moldova?
- The highest recorded value was 12.2% in 2016.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Republic of Moldova?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.2% in 2025.
- How does Republic of Moldova rank for informal employment?
- Republic of Moldova ranks 20th out of 45 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Republic of Moldova?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Republic of Moldova 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).