Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) was 31.5% in 2018. ▬ Flat

Latest (2018)
31.5%
Change on year
down 2.8%
World rank
23rd
of 27 countries
All-time high
33.2%
in 2016
All-time low
29.9%
in 2011
Years of data
9
2010–2018

Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) in Costa Rica, 2010–2018

01020302010201420182010: 31.92011: 29.92012: 30.92013: 32.82014: 32.72015: 332016: 33.22017: 32.42018: 31.5

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

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 31.5% for informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) in 2018.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.8% on the previous year and down 1.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) in Costa Rica peaked at 33.2% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 29.9%, in 2011.

That places Costa Rica 23rd out of 27 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.

Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - Non-agriculture - Male in Costa Rica, 2010 to 2018.
Year Value Change
2010 31.9%
2011 29.9% -6.1%
2012 30.9% +3.4%
2013 32.8% +6.0%
2014 32.7% -0.2%
2015 33.0% +0.7%
2016 33.2% +0.6%
2017 32.4% -2.3%
2018 31.5% -2.8%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 31.5% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 55.2%, 57% of the median. (14 countries reporting)

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 20 Brazil 39.4% compare
  2. 21 Mongolia 35.1% compare
  3. 22 South Africa 33.6% compare
  4. 24 Armenia 29.0% compare
  5. 25 Uruguay 24.4% compare
  6. 26 Bosnia and Herzegovina 19.8% compare

See the full ranking of 27 places →

More reference data data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) in Costa Rica?
Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) in Costa Rica was 31.5% 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) recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 33.2% in 2016.
What is the lowest informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 29.9% in 2011.
How does Costa Rica rank for informal employment by sector and gender (% of total)?
Costa Rica ranks 23rd out of 27 countries with data for 2018.
Is informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Costa Rica 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) - Non-agriculture - Male. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on UN Open Data Hub. Available at: https://unstats-undesa.opendata.arcgis.com/. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/informal-employment-by-sector-and-gender-percent-of-total-non-agriculture-male/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Informal employment by sector and gender (% of total) - Non-agriculture - Male
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 non-agriculture (male) employment 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.