Informal employment rate in Africa

Africa: Informal employment rate was 84.08 in 2027. ▬ Flat

Latest (2027)
84.08
Change on year
down 0.2%
Rank
14th
of 87 groups
All-time high
85.97
in 2004
All-time low
83.66
in 2016
Years of data
24
2004–2027

Informal employment rate in Africa, 2004–2027

0204060802004201520272004: 862005: 85.82006: 85.42007: 85.22008: 852009: 84.92010: 84.72011: 84.62012: 83.92013: 83.92014: 83.72015: 83.82016: 83.72017: 83.82018: 83.82019: 83.92020: 84.32021: 85.22022: 852023: 852024: 84.62025: 84.42026: 84.32027: 84.1

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

The most recent figure for informal employment rate in Africa is 84.08, measured in 2027.

That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, informal employment rate in Africa peaked at 85.97 in 2004 and was at its lowest, 83.66, in 2016.

That places Africa 14th out of 87 groups with data for 2027, putting it in the top quarter.

Informal employment rate in Africa, year by year

Annual values for Informal employment rate (ILO modelled estimates) in Africa, 2004 to 2027.
Year Value Change
2004 85.97
2005 85.76 -0.2%
2006 85.45 -0.4%
2007 85.23 -0.3%
2008 85 -0.3%
2009 84.94 -0.1%
2010 84.68 -0.3%
2011 84.57 -0.1%
2012 83.91 -0.8%
2013 83.93 +0.0%
2014 83.72 -0.2%
2015 83.77 +0.1%
2016 83.66 -0.1%
2017 83.81 +0.2%
2018 83.8 -0.0%
2019 83.86 +0.1%
2020 84.31 +0.5%
2021 85.19 +1.0%
2022 84.95 -0.3%
2023 84.97 +0.0%
2024 84.65 -0.4%
2025 84.41 -0.3%
2026 84.25 -0.2%
2027 84.08 -0.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 85.39 84.94 85.97 6
2010s 83.97 83.66 84.68 10
2020s 84.6 84.08 85.19 8

More work & labour data for Africa

All data for Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is informal employment rate in Africa?
Informal employment rate in Africa was 84.08 in 2027, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest informal employment rate recorded in Africa?
The highest recorded value was 85.97 in 2004.
What is the lowest informal employment rate recorded in Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 83.66 in 2016.
How does Africa rank for informal employment rate?
Africa ranks 14th out of 87 groups with data for 2027.
Is informal employment rate rising or falling in Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Africa data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Informal employment rate (ILO modelled estimates). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Informal employment rate in Africa. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/informal-employment-rate-ilo-modelled-estimates/africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/informal-employment-rate-ilo-modelled-estimates/africa/">Informal employment rate in Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Informal employment rate (ILO modelled estimates)
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
87 places, 2,088 data points, 2004–2027
Last refreshed

Imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. Informal employment comprises persons who in their main or secondary jobs were (a) own-account workers, employers and members of producers' cooperatives employed in their own informal sector enterprises; (b) own-account workers engaged in the production of goods exclusively for own final use by their household (e.g. subsistence farming); (c) contributing family workers, regardless of whether they work in formal or informal sector enterprises; or (d) employees holding informal jobs, whether employed by formal sector enterprises, informal sector enterprises, or as paid domestic workers by households. For more information, refer to the ILO Modelled Estimates (ILOEST) database description.