In most of the Global South, informal work is the work.: Share of workers in informal employment, by region.

In most of the Global South, informal work is the work.. Share of workers in informal employment, by region. Source: ILO, Women and Men in the Informal Economy, 2023.

In most of the Global South, informal work is the work.: Share of global employment that is informal, 2024.

Six in ten of the world's workers are informal.. Share of global employment that is informal, 2024. Source: ILO World Employment and Social Outlook, 2024.

In most of the Global South, informal work is the work.: Informal employment as a share of all workers, by country income group.

The lower the income, the more the economy runs off the books.. Informal employment as a share of all workers, by country income group. Source: ILO, low- and high-income modelled estimates, 2024.

In most of the Global South, informal work is the work.: Share of workers in informal employment, Africa, 2023.

In Africa, more than eight in ten jobs sit outside the formal ledger.. Share of workers in informal employment, Africa, 2023. Source: ILO, Women and Men in the Informal Economy, 2023.

capsrow / the Global South

Invisible Giant

In most of the Global South, informal work is the work.

The informal economy is not the exception in the Global South - it is the economy.

By capsrow · Updated July 2026

In most of the Global South, informal work is the work.Share of workers in informal employment, by region.Source: ILO, Women and Men in the Informal Economy, 2023.
Six in ten of the world's workers are informal.Share of global employment that is informal, 2024.Source: ILO World Employment and Social Outlook, 2024.
The lower the income, the more the economy runs off the books.Informal employment as a share of all workers, by country income group.Source: ILO, low- and high-income modelled estimates, 2024.
In Africa, more than eight in ten jobs sit outside the formal ledger.Share of workers in informal employment, Africa, 2023.Source: ILO, Women and Men in the Informal Economy, 2023.

The informal economy is not the exception in the Global South - it is the economy.

Across Africa, more than eight in ten workers earn outside the formal ledger. In the Arab States and across Asia and the Pacific, it is close to seven in ten. These are the customers no bank statement ever described and no credit bureau ever scored - market traders, ride-hailing drivers, corner-shop owners paid in cash at the end of the day.

The infrastructure that reaches them cannot be a copy of the one built for salaried workers.

This is the market that the next layer of Global South rails is being built to serve.

Sources. Source: ILO, Women and Men in the Informal Economy, 2023. Source: ILO World Employment and Social Outlook, 2024. Source: ILO, low- and high-income modelled estimates, 2024.