Share of employment outside the formal sector in Estonia
Estonia: Share of employment outside the formal sector was 5.24 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Estonia, 2007–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of employment outside the formal sector in Estonia is 5.24, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 9.7% on the previous year and up 67.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of employment outside the formal sector in Estonia peaked at 6.01 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1.26, in 2009.
Estonia ranks 64th of 81 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Estonia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 3.52 | — |
| 2008 | 1.9 | -46.0% |
| 2009 | 1.26 | -33.5% |
| 2010 | 1.95 | +54.2% |
| 2011 | 2.82 | +44.3% |
| 2012 | 2.65 | -5.9% |
| 2013 | 2.01 | -24.0% |
| 2014 | 2.87 | +42.7% |
| 2015 | 3.12 | +8.7% |
| 2016 | 2.9 | -7.0% |
| 2017 | 2.73 | -6.1% |
| 2018 | 1.31 | -52.0% |
| 2019 | 2.8 | +113.7% |
| 2020 | 3.02 | +7.8% |
| 2021 | 5.67 | +87.7% |
| 2022 | 6.01 | +6.0% |
| 2023 | 5.65 | -6.0% |
| 2024 | 5.8 | +2.6% |
| 2025 | 5.24 | -9.7% |
Estonia compared with similar countries
- Estonia's 5.24 is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.33, 98% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Estonia's 5.24 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5.51, 95% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.23 | 1.26 | 3.52 | 3 |
| 2010s | 2.52 | 1.31 | 3.12 | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.23 | 3.02 | 6.01 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Estonia
- 61 Luxembourg 5.54 compare
- 62 Slovakia 5.51 compare
- 63 Brunei Darussalam 5.43 compare
- 65 Lithuania 4.67 compare
- 66 Netherlands 4.55 compare
- 67 Bulgaria 4.11 compare
More work & labour data for Estonia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.67 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.6763 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.6638 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.77 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate -0.1039 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 885.23 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 259.52 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 417.66 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 407.84 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 825.5 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of employment outside the formal sector in Estonia?
- Share of employment outside the formal sector in Estonia was 5.24 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Estonia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.01 in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Estonia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.26 in 2009.
- How does Estonia rank for share of employment outside the formal sector?
- Estonia ranks 64th out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of employment outside the formal sector rising or falling in Estonia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 67.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Estonia data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Share of employment outside the formal sector (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 employment outside the formal sector 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.