Share of employment outside the formal sector in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of employment outside the formal sector was 58.62 in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Sri Lanka, 2010–2024
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2024, share of employment outside the formal sector in Sri Lanka stood at 58.62. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
The figure is down 1.6% on the previous year and down 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of employment outside the formal sector in Sri Lanka peaked at 64 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 58.62, in 2024.
That places Sri Lanka 18th out of 81 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 64 | — |
| 2011 | 63.67 | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 62.02 | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 60.7 | -2.1% |
| 2015 | 61.58 | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 61.45 | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 59.42 | -3.3% |
| 2018 | 60.15 | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 59.02 | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 59.36 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 59.62 | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 58.76 | -1.5% |
| 2023 | 59.57 | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 58.62 | -1.6% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 58.62 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 46.77, 1.3× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 61.33 | 59.02 | 64 | 9 |
| 2020s | 59.19 | 58.62 | 59.62 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More work & labour data for Sri Lanka
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.5555 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.5407 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.5702 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.3 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.6 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 6,575 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 14,218 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 10,672 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 10,578 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 21,249 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of employment outside the formal sector in Sri Lanka?
- Share of employment outside the formal sector in Sri Lanka was 58.62 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 64 in 2010.
- What is the lowest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 58.62 in 2024.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of employment outside the formal sector?
- Sri Lanka ranks 18th out of 81 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of employment outside the formal sector rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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 — 14 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.