Informal employment in Viet Nam
Viet Nam: Informal employment was 37,056 in 2024. ▼ Falling
Informal employment in Viet Nam, 2007–2024
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2024, informal employment in Viet Nam stood at 37,056.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 8.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Viet Nam peaked at 41,519 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 36,918, in 2020.
That places Viet Nam 5th out of 81 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Informal employment in Viet Nam, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 37,707 | — |
| 2009 | 39,158 | +3.8% |
| 2013 | 41,519 | +6.0% |
| 2014 | 40,542 | -2.4% |
| 2015 | 39,895 | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 39,494 | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 39,376 | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 38,751 | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 38,025 | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 36,918 | -2.9% |
| 2021 | 37,599 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 37,713 | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 37,184 | -1.4% |
| 2024 | 37,056 | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 38,433 | 37,707 | 39,158 | 2 |
| 2010s | 39,658 | 38,025 | 41,519 | 7 |
| 2020s | 37,294 | 36,918 | 37,713 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Viet Nam
More work & labour data for Viet Nam
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 22,535 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 71.95 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 57,816 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 70.79 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 3.1 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.7361 % change on previous year (2027)
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 72.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Viet Nam?
- Informal employment in Viet Nam was 37,056 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Viet Nam?
- The highest recorded value was 41,519 in 2013.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Viet Nam?
- The lowest recorded value was 36,918 in 2020.
- How does Viet Nam rank for informal employment?
- Viet Nam ranks 5th out of 81 countries with data for 2024.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Viet Nam?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Viet Nam 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.