Informal employment in France
France: Informal employment was 939.59 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Informal employment in France, 2007–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2025, informal employment in France stood at 939.59.
That represents a change of down 9.7% on the previous year and down 42.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in France peaked at 1,991 in 2008 and was at its lowest, 885.06, in 2020.
That places France 40th out of 81 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Informal employment in France, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 1,962 | — |
| 2008 | 1,991 | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 1,606 | -19.3% |
| 2010 | 1,658 | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 1,629 | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 1,523 | -6.5% |
| 2013 | 1,539 | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 1,665 | +8.2% |
| 2015 | 1,633 | -2.0% |
| 2016 | 1,784 | +9.3% |
| 2017 | 1,692 | -5.2% |
| 2018 | 1,499 | -11.4% |
| 2019 | 1,434 | -4.4% |
| 2020 | 885.06 | -38.3% |
| 2021 | 992.38 | +12.1% |
| 2022 | 1,093 | +10.1% |
| 2023 | 1,116 | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 1,040 | -6.8% |
| 2025 | 939.59 | -9.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1,853 | 1,606 | 1,991 | 3 |
| 2010s | 1,606 | 1,434 | 1,784 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1,011 | 885.06 | 1,116 | 6 |
Countries ranked near France
- 37 Kyrgyzstan 1,492 compare
- 38 Georgia 1,116 compare
- 39 Panama 1,097 compare
- 41 Spain 810.32 compare
- 42 Costa Rica 805.39 compare
- 43 Republic of Moldova 780.66 compare
More work & labour data for France
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.028 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.0507 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.0063 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.62 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.3323 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 62,374 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 8,235 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 35,191 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 33,294 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 68,485 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in France?
- Informal employment in France was 939.59 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 1,991 in 2008.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 885.06 in 2020.
- How does France rank for informal employment?
- France ranks 40th out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this France 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
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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.