SDG indicator 8.3.1: Proportion of informal employment in total in Western Africa

Western Africa: SDG indicator 8.3.1: Proportion of informal employment in total was 90.78 in 2027. ▼ Falling

Latest (2027)
90.78
Change on year
down 0.2%
Rank
2nd
of 87 groups
All-time high
97.64
in 2004
All-time low
90.78
in 2027
Years of data
24
2004–2027

SDG indicator 8.3.1: Proportion of informal employment in total in Western Africa, 2004–2027

0204060801002004201520272004: 97.62005: 97.62006: 97.42007: 97.42008: 97.22009: 96.82010: 962011: 95.42012: 94.82013: 94.82014: 94.42015: 94.12016: 93.12017: 92.82018: 92.22019: 91.72020: 92.12021: 92.72022: 922023: 91.92024: 91.72025: 91.22026: 912027: 90.8

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

In 2027, sdg indicator 8.3.1: proportion of informal employment in total in Western Africa stood at 90.78. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.

That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 2.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sdg indicator 8.3.1: proportion of informal employment in total in Western Africa peaked at 97.64 in 2004 and was at its lowest, 90.78, in 2027.

That places Western Africa 2nd out of 87 groups with data for 2027, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.

SDG indicator 8.3.1: Proportion of informal employment in total in Western Africa, year by year

Annual values for SDG indicator 8.3.1: Proportion of informal employment in total employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in Western Africa, 2004 to 2027.
Year Value Change
2004 97.64
2005 97.56 -0.1%
2006 97.41 -0.1%
2007 97.36 -0.1%
2008 97.17 -0.2%
2009 96.8 -0.4%
2010 96.04 -0.8%
2011 95.43 -0.6%
2012 94.76 -0.7%
2013 94.75 -0.0%
2014 94.38 -0.4%
2015 94.12 -0.3%
2016 93.08 -1.1%
2017 92.81 -0.3%
2018 92.17 -0.7%
2019 91.75 -0.5%
2020 92.06 +0.3%
2021 92.74 +0.7%
2022 91.99 -0.8%
2023 91.9 -0.1%
2024 91.69 -0.2%
2025 91.21 -0.5%
2026 90.99 -0.2%
2027 90.78 -0.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 97.32 96.8 97.64 6
2010s 93.93 91.75 96.04 10
2020s 91.67 90.78 92.74 8

Countries ranked near Western Africa

  1. 1 Angola 94.49 compare
  2. 2 Uganda 94.48 compare
  3. 3 Mali 92.77 compare
  4. 4 Cote d'Ivoire 92.12 compare
  5. 5 Rwanda 90.06 compare

See the full ranking of 170 places →

More work & labour data for Western Africa

All data for Western Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is sdg indicator 8.3.1: proportion of informal employment in total in Western Africa?
Sdg indicator 8.3.1: proportion of informal employment in total in Western Africa was 90.78 in 2027, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest sdg indicator 8.3.1: proportion of informal employment in total recorded in Western Africa?
The highest recorded value was 97.64 in 2004.
What is the lowest sdg indicator 8.3.1: proportion of informal employment in total recorded in Western Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 90.78 in 2027.
How does Western Africa rank for sdg indicator 8.3.1: proportion of informal employment in total?
Western Africa ranks 2nd out of 87 groups with data for 2027.
Is sdg indicator 8.3.1: proportion of informal employment in total rising or falling in Western Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Western Africa data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of SDG indicator 8.3.1: Proportion of informal employment in total employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). 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

SDG indicator 8.3.1: Proportion of informal employment in total in Western Africa. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/sdg-indicator-8-3-1-proportion-of-informal-employment-in-total-employment-previous-ilo/western-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/sdg-indicator-8-3-1-proportion-of-informal-employment-in-total-employment-previous-ilo/western-africa/">SDG indicator 8.3.1: Proportion of informal employment in total in Western Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
SDG indicator 8.3.1: Proportion of informal employment in total employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13)
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
170 places, 3,309 data points, 2000–2027
Last refreshed

Data may differ from nationally reported figures and the Global SDG Indicators Database due to differences in sources and/or reference years. This indicator conveys the share of informal employment in total employment. Employment comprises all persons of working age who, during a specified brief period, were either in paid employment (whether at work or with a job but not at work) or in self-employment (whether at work or with an enterprise but not at work). 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. 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 Market-related SDG Indicators (ILOSDG) database description.