Share of employment outside the formal sector in Finland
Finland: Share of employment outside the formal sector was 1.7 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Finland, 2007–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
Finland recorded 1.7 for share of employment outside the formal sector in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.
The figure is down 25.9% on the previous year and down 80.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of employment outside the formal sector in Finland peaked at 9.12 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 1.7, in 2025.
That places Finland 79th out of 81 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Finland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 8.21 | — |
| 2008 | 8.4 | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 8.43 | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 8.02 | -4.8% |
| 2011 | 8.92 | +11.2% |
| 2012 | 8.53 | -4.4% |
| 2013 | 8.55 | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 8.93 | +4.5% |
| 2015 | 8.82 | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 9.12 | +3.4% |
| 2017 | 9.09 | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 8.58 | -5.6% |
| 2019 | 8.45 | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 6.88 | -18.6% |
| 2021 | 1.88 | -72.7% |
| 2022 | 2.01 | +6.8% |
| 2023 | 2.19 | +9.1% |
| 2024 | 2.29 | +4.7% |
| 2025 | 1.7 | -25.9% |
Finland compared with similar countries
- Finland's 1.7 is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.33, 32% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Finland's 1.7 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5.51, 31% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of employment outside the formal sector in Finland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | -72.7% | 6.88 | 1.88 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.35 | 8.21 | 8.43 | 3 |
| 2010s | 8.7 | 8.02 | 9.12 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.83 | 1.7 | 6.88 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Finland
More work & labour data for Finland
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.3571 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.35 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.3641 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.59 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.2994 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 5,282 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 583.99 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 2,261 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 2,341 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 4,601 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of employment outside the formal sector in Finland?
- Share of employment outside the formal sector in Finland was 1.7 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Finland?
- The highest recorded value was 9.12 in 2016.
- What is the lowest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Finland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7 in 2025.
- How does Finland rank for share of employment outside the formal sector?
- Finland ranks 79th out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of employment outside the formal sector rising or falling in Finland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 80.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Finland 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.