Informal employment in Uganda

Uganda: Informal employment was 16,978 in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
16,978
Change on year
up 7.5%
World rank
11th
of 81 countries
All-time high
16,978
in 2021
All-time low
9,722
in 2012
Years of data
7
2010–2021

Informal employment in Uganda, 2010–2021

05.0k10.0k15.0k2010201520212010: 10.3k2011: 12.0k2012: 9.7k2014: 14.4k2017: 13.2k2019: 15.8k2021: 17.0k

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

Uganda recorded 16,978 for informal employment in 2021. That is the highest value across all 7 years on record.

That represents a change of up 7.5% on the previous year and up 41.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, informal employment in Uganda peaked at 16,978 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 9,722, in 2012.

Uganda ranks 11th of 81 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

Informal employment in Uganda, year by year

Annual values for Informal employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in Uganda, 2010 to 2021.
Year Value Change
2010 10,269
2011 11,969 +16.6%
2012 9,722 -18.8%
2014 14,354 +47.6%
2017 13,202 -8.0%
2019 15,792 +19.6%
2021 16,978 +7.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 12,551 9,722 15,792 6
2020s 16,978 16,978 16,978 1

Countries ranked near Uganda

  1. 8 Thailand 25,292 compare
  2. 9 Egypt 22,421 compare
  3. 10 Myanmar 17,978 compare
  4. 12 Russian Federation 14,123 compare
  5. 13 Colombia 13,346 compare
  6. 14 Angola 13,214 compare

See the full ranking of 81 places →

More work & labour data for Uganda

All data for Uganda →

Frequently asked questions

What is informal employment in Uganda?
Informal employment in Uganda was 16,978 in 2021, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest informal employment recorded in Uganda?
The highest recorded value was 16,978 in 2021.
What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Uganda?
The lowest recorded value was 9,722 in 2012.
How does Uganda rank for informal employment?
Uganda ranks 11th out of 81 countries with data for 2021.
Is informal employment rising or falling in Uganda?
Over the last ten years it is up 41.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Uganda 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 Uganda. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/informal-employment-previous-ilo-definition-icls13/uganda/

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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.