Share of employment outside the formal sector in Spain
Spain: Share of employment outside the formal sector was 5.79 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Spain, 2007–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2025, share of employment outside the formal sector in Spain stood at 5.79.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.8% on the previous year and down 36.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of employment outside the formal sector in Spain peaked at 9.16 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 2.48, in 2009.
Spain ranks 59th of 81 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Spain, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 5.18 | — |
| 2008 | 3.13 | -39.5% |
| 2009 | 2.48 | -20.8% |
| 2010 | 2.93 | +18.3% |
| 2011 | 6.63 | +126.0% |
| 2012 | 6.57 | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 7.45 | +13.5% |
| 2014 | 9.11 | +22.2% |
| 2015 | 9.16 | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 7.65 | -16.4% |
| 2017 | 8.02 | +4.7% |
| 2018 | 6.4 | -20.2% |
| 2019 | 7.1 | +11.0% |
| 2020 | 6.41 | -9.8% |
| 2021 | 7.59 | +18.5% |
| 2022 | 6.65 | -12.4% |
| 2023 | 5.82 | -12.4% |
| 2024 | 6.08 | +4.4% |
| 2025 | 5.79 | -4.8% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 5.79 is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.33, 1.1× the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Spain's 5.79 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5.51, 1.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of employment outside the formal sector in Spain 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | +126.0% | 2.93 | 6.63 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.6 | 2.48 | 5.18 | 3 |
| 2010s | 7.1 | 2.93 | 9.16 | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.39 | 5.79 | 7.59 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Spain
- 56 North Macedonia 7.35 compare
- 57 Poland 6.29 compare
- 58 Austria 5.88 compare
- 60 Seychelles 5.74 compare
- 61 Luxembourg 5.54 compare
- 62 Slovakia 5.51 compare
More work & labour data for Spain
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.527 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.5576 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.4982 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.05 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate -0.1207 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 39,073 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 5,322 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 17,076 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 16,051 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 33,128 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of employment outside the formal sector in Spain?
- Share of employment outside the formal sector in Spain was 5.79 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 9.16 in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.48 in 2009.
- How does Spain rank for share of employment outside the formal sector?
- Spain ranks 59th out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of employment outside the formal sector rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain 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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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.