Informal employment in Colombia
Colombia: Informal employment was 13,346 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Informal employment in Colombia, 2007–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
The most recent figure for informal employment in Colombia is 13,346, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.2% on the previous year and up 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Colombia peaked at 13,346 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 11,355, in 2007.
That places Colombia 13th out of 81 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Informal employment in Colombia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 11,355 | — |
| 2008 | 11,550 | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 12,509 | +8.3% |
| 2010 | 12,644 | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 12,942 | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 13,234 | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 13,013 | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 12,990 | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 13,185 | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 13,065 | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 13,138 | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 13,278 | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 13,201 | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 13,117 | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 12,811 | -2.3% |
| 2023 | 12,877 | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 12,933 | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 13,346 | +3.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 11,805 | 11,355 | 12,509 | 3 |
| 2010s | 13,069 | 12,644 | 13,278 | 10 |
| 2020s | 13,017 | 12,811 | 13,346 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Colombia
More work & labour data for Colombia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.7218 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.6981 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.7453 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.81 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.1417 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 48,629 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 6,104 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 23,624 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 23,456 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 47,081 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Colombia?
- Informal employment in Colombia was 13,346 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 13,346 in 2025.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11,355 in 2007.
- How does Colombia rank for informal employment?
- Colombia ranks 13th out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Colombia data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. This harmonized series for informal employment is derived using the same set of criteria across countries to improve comparability. The criteria used are based on employment status, institutional sector, destination of production, bookkeeping, registration, social security contribution, places of work and size. Data disaggregated by occupation are provided according to the latest version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO). Data may have been regrouped from the national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISCO. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.