Informal employment in Panama
Panama: Informal employment was 1,097 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Informal employment in Panama, 2003–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
Panama recorded 1,097 for informal employment in 2025.
The figure is down 2.8% on the previous year and up 32.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Panama peaked at 1,129 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 671.96, in 2003.
That places Panama 39th 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 16 years of available data.
Informal employment in Panama, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 671.96 | — |
| 2008 | 713.56 | +6.2% |
| 2011 | 715.93 | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 759.52 | +6.1% |
| 2013 | 800.46 | +5.4% |
| 2014 | 813.99 | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 829.43 | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 859.15 | +3.6% |
| 2017 | 882.23 | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 959.1 | +8.7% |
| 2019 | 1,014 | +5.7% |
| 2020 | 916.03 | -9.6% |
| 2021 | 970.54 | +6.0% |
| 2023 | 1,087 | +12.0% |
| 2024 | 1,129 | +3.8% |
| 2025 | 1,097 | -2.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 692.76 | 671.96 | 713.56 | 2 |
| 2010s | 848.17 | 715.93 | 1,014 | 9 |
| 2020s | 1,040 | 916.03 | 1,129 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More work & labour data for Panama
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.192 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.1956 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.1888 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.09 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 4,652 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 1,175 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 2,950 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 2,955 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 5,905 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Panama?
- Informal employment in Panama was 1,097 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 1,129 in 2024.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 671.96 in 2003.
- How does Panama rank for informal employment?
- Panama ranks 39th out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Panama 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.