Informal employment in Viet Nam

Viet Nam: Informal employment was 52.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
52.3%
Change on year
down 1.3%
World rank
8th
of 45 countries
All-time high
55.0%
in 2021
All-time low
52.3%
in 2024
Years of data
5
2020–2024

Informal employment in Viet Nam, 2020–2024

02040602020202220242020: 54.9 % of total non-agricultural employment2021: 55 % of total non-agricultural employment2022: 53.3 % of total non-agricultural employment2023: 53 % of total non-agricultural employment2024: 52.3 % of total non-agricultural employment

Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total non-agricultural employment.

Analysis

In 2024, informal employment in Viet Nam stood at 52.3%. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.

The figure is down 1.3% on the previous year and down 4.8% over five years.

Viet Nam ranks 8th of 45 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

Informal employment in Viet Nam, year by year

Annual values for Informal employment (% of total non-agricultural employment) in Viet Nam, 2020 to 2024.
Year % of total non-agricultural employment Change
2020 54.9%
2021 55.0% +0.2%
2022 53.3% -3.2%
2023 53.0% -0.6%
2024 52.3% -1.3%

Viet Nam compared with similar countries

  • Viet Nam's 52.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 29.1%, 1.8× the median. (10 countries reporting)

Countries ranked near Viet Nam

  1. 5 Zambia 59.8% compare
  2. 6 El Salvador 54.6% compare
  3. 7 Jordan 53.1% compare
  4. 9 Panama 50.3% compare
  5. 10 Costa Rica 33.8% compare
  6. 11 Brazil 32.5% compare

See the full ranking of 45 places →

More work & labour data for Viet Nam

All data for Viet Nam →

Frequently asked questions

What is informal employment in Viet Nam?
Informal employment in Viet Nam was 52.3% in 2024, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
What is the highest informal employment recorded in Viet Nam?
The highest recorded value was 55.0% in 2021.
What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Viet Nam?
The lowest recorded value was 52.3% in 2024.
How does Viet Nam rank for informal employment?
Viet Nam ranks 8th out of 45 countries with data for 2024.
Where does this Viet Nam 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.

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Informal employment in Viet Nam. Statizoid, drawing on Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/informal-employment-percent-of-total-non-agricultural-employment/viet-nam/

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About this data

Indicator
Informal employment (% of total non-agricultural employment)
Unit
% of total non-agricultural employment
Source
Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
45 places, 426 data points, 2014–2025
Last refreshed

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).