Share of employment: ICLS13) … previous ICLS13 in Turkey
Turkey: Share of employment: ICLS13) … previous ICLS13 was 25.62 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Turkey, 2000–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
Turkey recorded 25.62 for share of employment outside the formal sector in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.4% on the previous year and down 23.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of employment outside the formal sector in Turkey peaked at 52.13 in 2002 and was at its lowest, 25.62, in 2025.
Turkey ranks 45th of 81 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Share of employment: ICLS13) … previous ICLS13 in Turkey, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 50.62 | — |
| 2002 | 52.13 | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 51.75 | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 50.37 | -2.7% |
| 2005 | 48.36 | -4.0% |
| 2006 | 47.1 | -2.6% |
| 2007 | 45.51 | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 43.57 | -4.3% |
| 2009 | 43.54 | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 42.89 | -1.5% |
| 2011 | 41.57 | -3.1% |
| 2012 | 38.31 | -7.8% |
| 2013 | 35.99 | -6.1% |
| 2014 | 34.76 | -3.4% |
| 2015 | 33.34 | -4.1% |
| 2016 | 33.22 | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 33.81 | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 33.29 | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 34.37 | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 30.54 | -11.1% |
| 2021 | 28.98 | -5.1% |
| 2022 | 26.75 | -7.7% |
| 2023 | 26.08 | -2.5% |
| 2024 | 26.52 | +1.7% |
| 2025 | 25.62 | -3.4% |
Turkey compared with similar countries
- Turkey's 25.62 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 46.77, 55% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
- Turkey's 25.62 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5.51, 4.6× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 48.11 | 43.54 | 52.13 | 9 |
| 2010s | 36.15 | 33.22 | 42.89 | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.42 | 25.62 | 30.54 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
- 42 South Africa 30.68 compare
- 43 Palestine 28.76 compare
- 44 Saint Lucia 28.2 compare
- 46 Mauritius 22.68 compare
- 47 United Kingdom 20.49 compare
- 48 Russia 19.23 compare
More work & labour data for Turkey
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 31,966 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 54.63 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 38,497 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 8.78 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.51 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 95,928 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 41,171 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 49.84 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.6505 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 1.11 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of employment outside the formal sector in Turkey?
- Share of employment outside the formal sector in Turkey was 25.62 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 52.13 in 2002.
- What is the lowest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.62 in 2025.
- How does Turkey rank for share of employment outside the formal sector?
- Turkey ranks 45th out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of employment outside the formal sector rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Turkey 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 — 25 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.