Informal employment rate in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Informal employment rate was 66.35 in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
66.35
Change on year
down 1.8%
World rank
22nd
of 81 countries
All-time high
70.98
in 2010
All-time low
66.35
in 2024
Years of data
14
2010–2024

Informal employment rate in Sri Lanka, 2010–2024

0204060802010201720242010: 712011: 70.82013: 702014: 69.22015: 69.52016: 69.72017: 68.12018: 67.92019: 66.72020: 66.92021: 67.42022: 66.92023: 67.62024: 66.4

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

The most recent figure for informal employment rate in Sri Lanka is 66.35, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.

The figure is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 4.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, informal employment rate in Sri Lanka peaked at 70.98 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 66.35, in 2024.

That places Sri Lanka 22nd out of 81 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.

Informal employment rate in Sri Lanka, year by year

Annual values for Informal employment rate (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in Sri Lanka, 2010 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2010 70.98
2011 70.84 -0.2%
2013 69.98 -1.2%
2014 69.17 -1.2%
2015 69.5 +0.5%
2016 69.73 +0.3%
2017 68.12 -2.3%
2018 67.93 -0.3%
2019 66.67 -1.9%
2020 66.95 +0.4%
2021 67.42 +0.7%
2022 66.95 -0.7%
2023 67.57 +0.9%
2024 66.35 -1.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 69.21 66.67 70.98 9
2020s 67.05 66.35 67.57 5

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 19 Egypt 68.61 compare
  2. 20 Ecuador 68.45 compare
  3. 21 Vietnam 67.03 compare
  4. 23 Paraguay 64.5 compare
  5. 24 El Salvador 63.63 compare
  6. 25 Thailand 63.17 compare

See the full ranking of 81 places →

More work & labour data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is informal employment rate in Sri Lanka?
Informal employment rate in Sri Lanka was 66.35 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest informal employment rate recorded in Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 70.98 in 2010.
What is the lowest informal employment rate recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 66.35 in 2024.
How does Sri Lanka rank for informal employment rate?
Sri Lanka ranks 22nd out of 81 countries with data for 2024.
Is informal employment rate rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Informal employment rate (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Informal employment rate in Sri Lanka. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/informal-employment-rate-previous-ilo-definition-icls13/sri-lanka/

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About this data

Indicator
Informal employment rate (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 economic activity are provided according to the latest version of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) available for that year. Data may have been regrouped from national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISIC. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.