Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in Moldova
Moldova: Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) was 780.66 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Informal employment in Moldova, 2003–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2025, informal employment in Moldova stood at 780.66.
That represents a change of up 5.1% on the previous year and down 19.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Moldova peaked at 1,093 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 527.84, in 2004.
That places Moldova 43rd out of 81 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in Moldova, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 599.47 | — |
| 2004 | 527.84 | -11.9% |
| 2005 | 531.35 | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 748.86 | +40.9% |
| 2007 | 794.54 | +6.1% |
| 2008 | 811.63 | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 880.82 | +8.5% |
| 2010 | 1,012 | +14.9% |
| 2011 | 1,036 | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 1,070 | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 1,093 | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 951.57 | -12.9% |
| 2015 | 974.83 | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 972.11 | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 913.33 | -6.0% |
| 2018 | 827.97 | -9.3% |
| 2019 | 811.67 | -2.0% |
| 2020 | 834.81 | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 872.67 | +4.5% |
| 2022 | 856.11 | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 749.23 | -12.5% |
| 2024 | 742.66 | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 780.66 | +5.1% |
Moldova compared with similar countries
- Moldova's 780.66 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2,402, 33% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
- Moldova's 780.66 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 162.87, 4.8× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in Moldova changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +40.9% | 531.35 | 748.86 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 699.21 | 527.84 | 880.82 | 7 |
| 2010s | 966.26 | 811.67 | 1,093 | 10 |
| 2020s | 806.02 | 742.66 | 872.67 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Moldova
More work & labour data for Moldova
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 654.38 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 72.49 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 1,725 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 1.5 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.726 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 24,890 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 5,854 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 71.4 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) -0.868 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -0.4043 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Moldova?
- Informal employment in Moldova was 780.66 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Moldova?
- The highest recorded value was 1,093 in 2013.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Moldova?
- The lowest recorded value was 527.84 in 2004.
- How does Moldova rank for informal employment?
- Moldova ranks 43rd out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Moldova?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Moldova 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.