Share of employment outside the formal sector in Netherlands
Netherlands: Share of employment outside the formal sector was 4.55 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Netherlands, 2007–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
Netherlands recorded 4.55 for share of employment outside the formal sector in 2025.
That represents a change of down 6.4% on the previous year and down 64.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of employment outside the formal sector in Netherlands peaked at 14.12 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 4.37, in 2021.
Netherlands ranks 66th of 81 countries on this measure, 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 Netherlands, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 8.77 | — |
| 2008 | 10.9 | +24.3% |
| 2009 | 11.27 | +3.4% |
| 2010 | 12.27 | +8.8% |
| 2011 | 12.35 | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 13.03 | +5.5% |
| 2013 | 12.35 | -5.2% |
| 2014 | 12.11 | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 12.83 | +6.0% |
| 2016 | 13.46 | +4.9% |
| 2017 | 13.55 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 13.93 | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 13.83 | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 14.12 | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 4.37 | -69.1% |
| 2022 | 4.5 | +3.0% |
| 2023 | 4.39 | -2.3% |
| 2024 | 4.87 | +10.7% |
| 2025 | 4.55 | -6.4% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 4.55 is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.33, 85% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 4.55 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5.51, 83% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of employment outside the formal sector in Netherlands 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 | -69.1% | 14.12 | 4.37 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10.31 | 8.77 | 11.27 | 3 |
| 2010s | 12.97 | 12.11 | 13.93 | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.13 | 4.37 | 14.12 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More work & labour data for Netherlands
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 5,256 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 66.71 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 10,535 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.03 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.834 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 130,584 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 94,797 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 64.03 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.4 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.1112 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of employment outside the formal sector in Netherlands?
- Share of employment outside the formal sector in Netherlands was 4.55 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 14.12 in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.37 in 2021.
- How does Netherlands rank for share of employment outside the formal sector?
- Netherlands ranks 66th out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of employment outside the formal sector rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 64.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Netherlands 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).
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.