Informal employment in Iceland

Iceland: Informal employment was 3.46 in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
3.46
Change on year
down 6.1%
World rank
81st
of 81 countries
All-time high
6.94
in 2007
All-time low
1.9
in 2018
Years of data
10
2007–2020

Informal employment in Iceland, 2007–2020

2462007201320202007: 6.92008: 6.32009: 4.92010: 4.12011: 3.62012: 4.32017: 2.32018: 1.92019: 3.72020: 3.5

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

Iceland recorded 3.46 for informal employment in 2020.

The figure is down 6.1% on the previous year and down 15.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, informal employment in Iceland peaked at 6.94 in 2007 and was at its lowest, 1.9, in 2018.

That places Iceland 81st out of 81 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.

Informal employment in Iceland, year by year

Annual values for Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in Iceland, 2007 to 2020.
Year Value Change
2007 6.94
2008 6.32 -8.9%
2009 4.93 -22.0%
2010 4.1 -16.9%
2011 3.64 -11.2%
2012 4.34 +19.3%
2017 2.27 -47.6%
2018 1.9 -16.4%
2019 3.69 +94.0%
2020 3.46 -6.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 6.07 4.93 6.94 3
2010s 3.32 1.9 4.34 6
2020s 3.46 3.46 3.46 1

Countries ranked near Iceland

  1. 78 Seychelles 17.96
  2. 79 Cyprus 14.17 compare
  3. 80 Luxembourg 14.07 compare

See the full ranking of 81 places →

More work & labour data for Iceland

All data for Iceland →

Frequently asked questions

What is informal employment in Iceland?
Informal employment in Iceland was 3.46 in 2020, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest informal employment recorded in Iceland?
The highest recorded value was 6.94 in 2007.
What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Iceland?
The lowest recorded value was 1.9 in 2018.
How does Iceland rank for informal employment?
Iceland ranks 81st out of 81 countries with data for 2020.
Is informal employment rising or falling in Iceland?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Iceland 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 Iceland. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/informal-employment-previous-ilo-definition-icls13/iceland/

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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.