Informal employment in Norway
Norway: Informal employment was 2.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Informal employment in Norway, 2014–2024
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total non-agricultural employment.
Analysis
In 2024, informal employment in Norway stood at 2.0%.
The figure is up 24.4% on the previous year and down 55.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Norway peaked at 4.8% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2023.
Norway ranks 43rd of 45 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Informal employment in Norway, year by year
| Year | % of total non-agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 4.6% | — |
| 2015 | 4.8% | +3.9% |
| 2016 | 4.1% | -14.0% |
| 2017 | 4.1% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 4.5% | +11.2% |
| 2019 | 4.4% | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 3.6% | -18.5% |
| 2021 | 4.6% | +27.1% |
| 2022 | 4.3% | -5.4% |
| 2023 | 1.6% | -62.1% |
| 2024 | 2.0% | +24.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.4% | 4.1% | 4.8% | 6 |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 1.6% | 4.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Norway
More work & labour data for Norway
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.2322 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.2413 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.2229 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.14 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.7506 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 6,138 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 663.52 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 2,690 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 2,724 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 5,414 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Norway?
- Informal employment in Norway was 2.0% in 2024, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Norway?
- The highest recorded value was 4.8% in 2015.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Norway?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2023.
- How does Norway rank for informal employment?
- Norway ranks 43rd out of 45 countries with data for 2024.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Norway?
- Over the last ten years it is down 55.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Norway 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 — 11 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).