Informal employment in Spain
Spain: Informal employment was 3.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Informal employment in Spain, 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 Spain stood at 3.9%.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and down 22.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Spain peaked at 5.5% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 3.6%, in 2020.
Spain ranks 32nd of 45 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Informal employment in Spain, year by year
| Year | % of total non-agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 5.0% | — |
| 2015 | 5.1% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 3.8% | -25.5% |
| 2017 | 4.6% | +21.6% |
| 2018 | 3.8% | -16.8% |
| 2019 | 4.2% | +9.9% |
| 2020 | 3.6% | -14.0% |
| 2021 | 5.5% | +53.1% |
| 2022 | 4.8% | -13.9% |
| 2023 | 3.9% | -18.7% |
| 2024 | 3.9% | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.4% | 3.8% | 5.1% | 6 |
| 2020s | 4.3% | 3.6% | 5.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More work & labour data for Spain
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.527 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.5576 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.4982 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.05 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate -0.1207 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 39,073 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 5,322 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 17,076 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 16,051 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 33,128 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Spain?
- Informal employment in Spain was 3.9% in 2024, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 5.5% in 2021.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.6% in 2020.
- How does Spain rank for informal employment?
- Spain ranks 32nd out of 45 countries with data for 2024.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is down 22.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Spain 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).