Share of female workers in informal employment in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of female workers in informal employment was 34.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of female workers in informal employment in Costa Rica, 2010–2025
Source: International Labour Organization – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 34.1% for share of female workers in informal employment in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.
That represents a change of down 10.6% on the previous year and down 27.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of female workers in informal employment in Costa Rica peaked at 47.2% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 34.1%, in 2025.
That places Costa Rica 42nd out of 82 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Share of female workers in informal employment in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 40.4% | — |
| 2011 | 41.0% | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 44.3% | +8.0% |
| 2013 | 46.4% | +4.8% |
| 2014 | 46.5% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 47.2% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 43.7% | -7.4% |
| 2017 | 43.7% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 46.1% | +5.4% |
| 2019 | 46.3% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 42.0% | -9.3% |
| 2021 | 43.6% | +3.9% |
| 2022 | 42.4% | -2.9% |
| 2023 | 37.8% | -10.8% |
| 2024 | 38.2% | +1.0% |
| 2025 | 34.1% | -10.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 44.6% | 40.4% | 47.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 39.7% | 34.1% | 43.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More work & labour data for Costa Rica
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.9965 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.9952 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.9977 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.61 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.29 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 5,205 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 569.35 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 1,908 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 1,868 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 3,776 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of female workers in informal employment in Costa Rica?
- Share of female workers in informal employment in Costa Rica was 34.1% in 2025, according to International Labour Organization – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of female workers in informal employment recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 47.2% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of female workers in informal employment recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.1% in 2025.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of female workers in informal employment?
- Costa Rica ranks 42nd out of 82 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of female workers in informal employment rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of female workers in informal employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of employed females working in jobs that lack basic social or legal protection and employment benefits. Does not include illegal and illicit activities. Figures refer to national estimates and may not be fully comparable across countries.