Informal employment in Portugal
Portugal: Informal employment was 117.99 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Informal employment in Portugal, 2007–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
Portugal recorded 117.99 for informal employment in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 55.3% on the previous year and down 55.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Portugal peaked at 424.73 in 2008 and was at its lowest, 117.99, in 2025.
Portugal ranks 62nd of 81 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Informal employment in Portugal, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 370.24 | — |
| 2008 | 424.73 | +14.7% |
| 2009 | 253.33 | -40.4% |
| 2010 | 247.96 | -2.1% |
| 2011 | 204.64 | -17.5% |
| 2012 | 232.45 | +13.6% |
| 2013 | 219.44 | -5.6% |
| 2014 | 266 | +21.2% |
| 2015 | 267.41 | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 231.49 | -13.4% |
| 2017 | 264.88 | +14.4% |
| 2018 | 201.66 | -23.9% |
| 2019 | 193.11 | -4.2% |
| 2020 | 189.53 | -1.9% |
| 2021 | 420.53 | +121.9% |
| 2022 | 241.56 | -42.6% |
| 2023 | 248.59 | +2.9% |
| 2024 | 263.8 | +6.1% |
| 2025 | 117.99 | -55.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 349.44 | 253.33 | 424.73 | 3 |
| 2010s | 232.9 | 193.11 | 267.41 | 10 |
| 2020s | 247 | 117.99 | 420.53 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More work & labour data for Portugal
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.0538 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.055 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.0528 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.28 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate -0.1795 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 7,134 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 1,861 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 4,504 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 4,250 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 8,754 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Portugal?
- Informal employment in Portugal was 117.99 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 424.73 in 2008.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 117.99 in 2025.
- How does Portugal rank for informal employment?
- Portugal ranks 62nd out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 55.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Portugal 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.