Informal employment in Pakistan
Pakistan: Informal employment was 68,857 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Informal employment in Pakistan, 2009–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2025, informal employment in Pakistan stood at 68,857. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of up 50.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Pakistan peaked at 68,857 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 39,084, in 2009.
Pakistan ranks 3rd of 81 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Informal employment in Pakistan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 39,084 | — |
| 2010 | 40,143 | +2.7% |
| 2011 | 42,392 | +5.6% |
| 2013 | 43,924 | +3.6% |
| 2014 | 45,410 | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 45,727 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 49,024 | +7.2% |
| 2019 | 48,647 | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 51,998 | +6.9% |
| 2025 | 68,857 | +32.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 39,084 | 39,084 | 39,084 | 1 |
| 2010s | 45,038 | 40,143 | 49,024 | 7 |
| 2020s | 60,427 | 51,998 | 68,857 | 2 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
More work & labour data for Pakistan
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.1692 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.1658 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.1724 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.4553 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 2.11 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 160,228 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 146,712 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 259,090 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 251,911 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 511,001 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Pakistan?
- Informal employment in Pakistan was 68,857 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 68,857 in 2025.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 39,084 in 2009.
- How does Pakistan rank for informal employment?
- Pakistan ranks 3rd out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 50.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Pakistan 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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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.