Informal employment in Guatemala

Guatemala: Informal employment was 5,758 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
5,758
Change on year
down 11.2%
World rank
23rd
of 81 countries
All-time high
6,483
in 2023
All-time low
3,561
in 2002
Years of data
18
2002–2024

Informal employment in Guatemala, 2002–2024

02.0k4.0k6.0k2002201320242002: 3.6k2003: 3.6k2004: 3.6k2006: 4.0k2010: 4.2k2011: 4.3k2012: 5.0k2013: 4.6k2014: 4.7k2015: 4.9k2016: 5.1k2017: 5.4k2018: 5.6k2019: 5.6k2021: 5.9k2022: 5.5k2023: 6.5k2024: 5.8k

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

In 2024, informal employment in Guatemala stood at 5,758.

The figure is down 11.2% on the previous year and up 21.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, informal employment in Guatemala peaked at 6,483 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3,561, in 2002.

That places Guatemala 23rd out of 81 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.

Informal employment in Guatemala, year by year

Annual values for Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in Guatemala, 2002 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2002 3,561
2003 3,588 +0.7%
2004 3,613 +0.7%
2006 3,956 +9.5%
2010 4,215 +6.5%
2011 4,342 +3.0%
2012 5,005 +15.3%
2013 4,644 -7.2%
2014 4,731 +1.9%
2015 4,941 +4.5%
2016 5,128 +3.8%
2017 5,358 +4.5%
2018 5,571 +4.0%
2019 5,612 +0.7%
2021 5,934 +5.7%
2022 5,543 -6.6%
2023 6,483 +17.0%
2024 5,758 -11.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 3,679 3,561 3,956 4
2010s 4,955 4,215 5,612 10
2020s 5,930 5,543 6,483 4

Countries ranked near Guatemala

  1. 20 South Africa 5,963 compare
  2. 21 Zambia 5,921 compare
  3. 22 Rwanda 5,779 compare
  4. 24 Ecuador 5,702 compare
  5. 25 Sri Lanka 5,275 compare
  6. 26 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 4,485 compare

See the full ranking of 81 places →

More work & labour data for Guatemala

All data for Guatemala →

Frequently asked questions

What is informal employment in Guatemala?
Informal employment in Guatemala was 5,758 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest informal employment recorded in Guatemala?
The highest recorded value was 6,483 in 2023.
What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Guatemala?
The lowest recorded value was 3,561 in 2002.
How does Guatemala rank for informal employment?
Guatemala ranks 23rd out of 81 countries with data for 2024.
Is informal employment rising or falling in Guatemala?
Over the last ten years it is up 21.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Guatemala 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.

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Informal employment in Guatemala. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/informal-employment-previous-ilo-definition-icls13/guatemala/

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About this data

Indicator
Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13)
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
81 places, 1,202 data points, 1999–2026
Last refreshed

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.