Informal employment in Panama
Panama: Informal employment was 50.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Informal employment in Panama, 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 Panama stood at 50.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.7% on the previous year and up 22.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Panama peaked at 52.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 40.9%, in 2014.
That places Panama 9th out of 45 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Informal employment in Panama, year by year
| Year | % of total non-agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 40.9% | — |
| 2015 | 41.2% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 41.2% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 42.7% | +3.6% |
| 2018 | 45.3% | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 46.7% | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 50.9% | +9.0% |
| 2021 | 49.4% | -2.9% |
| 2023 | 50.0% | +1.1% |
| 2024 | 52.3% | +4.5% |
| 2025 | 50.3% | -3.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 43.0% | 40.9% | 46.7% | 6 |
| 2020s | 50.6% | 49.4% | 52.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More work & labour data for Panama
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.192 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.1956 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.1888 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.09 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 4,652 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 1,175 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 2,950 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 2,955 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 5,905 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Panama?
- Informal employment in Panama was 50.3% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 52.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.9% in 2014.
- How does Panama rank for informal employment?
- Panama ranks 9th out of 45 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Panama 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).