Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - No breakdown in South Africa

South Africa: Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - No breakdown was 37.3% in 2018. ▬ Flat

Latest (2018)
37.3%
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
24th
of 27 countries
All-time high
39.6%
in 2008
All-time low
34.7%
in 2012
Years of data
11
2008–2018

Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - No breakdown in South Africa, 2008–2018

0102030402008201320182008: 39.62009: 37.92010: 37.42011: 35.92012: 34.72013: 35.82014: 35.62015: 372016: 36.32017: 372018: 37.3

Source: UN Open Data Hub. Available at: https://unstats-undesa.opendata.arcgis.com/.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 37.3% for informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - no breakdown in 2018.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and down 5.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - no breakdown in South Africa peaked at 39.6% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 34.7%, in 2012.

South Africa ranks 24th of 27 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - No breakdown in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - No breakdown - Female in South Africa, 2008 to 2018.
Year Value Change
2008 39.6%
2009 37.9% -4.2%
2010 37.4% -1.2%
2011 35.9% -4.0%
2012 34.7% -3.4%
2013 35.8% +3.0%
2014 35.6% -0.5%
2015 37.0% +3.9%
2016 36.3% -2.0%
2017 37.0% +2.0%
2018 37.3% +0.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 38.7% 37.9% 39.6% 2
2010s 36.3% 34.7% 37.4% 9

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 21 Mongolia 44.1% compare
  2. 22 Costa Rica 43.1% compare
  3. 23 Brazil 42.5% compare
  4. 25 Bosnia and Herzegovina 29.8% compare
  5. 26 Uruguay 22.6% compare
  6. 27 Serbia 20.7% compare

See the full ranking of 27 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - no breakdown in South Africa?
Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - no breakdown in South Africa was 37.3% in 2018, according to UN Open Data Hub. Available at: https://unstats-undesa.opendata.arcgis.com/.
What is the highest informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - no breakdown recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 39.6% in 2008.
What is the lowest informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - no breakdown recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 34.7% in 2012.
How does South Africa rank for informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - no breakdown?
South Africa ranks 24th out of 27 countries with data for 2018.
Is informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - no breakdown rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from UN Open Data Hub. Available at: https://unstats-undesa.opendata.arcgis.com/, published as part of Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - No breakdown - Female. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - No breakdown in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on UN Open Data Hub. Available at: https://unstats-undesa.opendata.arcgis.com/. Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/informal-employment-by-sector-and-gender-percent-of-total-no-breakdown-female/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/informal-employment-by-sector-and-gender-percent-of-total-no-breakdown-female/south-africa/">Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - No breakdown in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - No breakdown - Female
Source
UN Open Data Hub. Available at: https://unstats-undesa.opendata.arcgis.com/
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
27 places, 272 data points, 2000–2019
Last refreshed

This indicator presents the share of employment that had no-breakdown as either non-agricultural or agricultural (female), which is classified as informal employment in the total economy. Data is taken from the United Nations Sustainable Goals, representing Indicator 8.3.1: Proportion of informal employment in total employment, by sector and sex.