Informal employment in Zambia
Zambia: Informal employment was 5,921 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Informal employment in Zambia, 2017–2024
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2024, informal employment in Zambia stood at 5,921. That is the highest value across all 8 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.8% on the previous year and up 30.2% over ten years.
That places Zambia 21st out of 81 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
Informal employment in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 4,548 | — |
| 2018 | 4,369 | -3.9% |
| 2019 | 4,573 | +4.7% |
| 2020 | 4,775 | +4.4% |
| 2021 | 4,893 | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 4,940 | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 5,596 | +13.3% |
| 2024 | 5,921 | +5.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4,497 | 4,369 | 4,573 | 3 |
| 2020s | 5,225 | 4,775 | 5,921 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More work & labour data for Zambia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.5254 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.5224 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.5281 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate 0.7611 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 3.24 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 25,577 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 15,424 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 32,895 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 31,579 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 64,474 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Zambia?
- Informal employment in Zambia was 5,921 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 5,921 in 2024.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4,369 in 2018.
- How does Zambia rank for informal employment?
- Zambia ranks 21st out of 81 countries with data for 2024.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.