Informal employment in Rwanda
Rwanda: Informal employment was 79.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Informal employment in Rwanda, 2017–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total non-agricultural employment.
Analysis
Rwanda recorded 79.0% for informal employment in 2025. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
The figure is up 9.0% on the previous year and up 15.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Rwanda peaked at 79.0% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 68.1%, in 2017.
That places Rwanda 2nd out of 45 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
Informal employment in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | % of total non-agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 68.1% | — |
| 2018 | 68.7% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 68.9% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 72.3% | +4.9% |
| 2021 | 71.0% | -1.7% |
| 2022 | 71.1% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 73.0% | +2.6% |
| 2024 | 72.5% | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 79.0% | +9.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 68.6% | 68.1% | 68.9% | 3 |
| 2020s | 73.1% | 71.0% | 79.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More work & labour data for Rwanda
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.267 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.2752 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.2591 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate 0.3518 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 3.32 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 6,483 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 15,403 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 16,639 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 16,140 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 32,779 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Rwanda?
- Informal employment in Rwanda was 79.0% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 79.0% in 2025.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 68.1% in 2017.
- How does Rwanda rank for informal employment?
- Rwanda ranks 2nd out of 45 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda 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 — 9 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).