informales

Informales refers to people and activities that operate outside formal regulatory and legal frameworks. Informality is marked by the absence of formal employment contracts, tax or business registration, and limited or no access to social protections, formal credit, or regulated labor rights. The term covers both informal workers and informal enterprises.

Common informal activities include street vending, casual labor, home-based production, and micro-enterprises that operate without formal registration. They are widespread in urban and rural settings and occur across sectors such as commerce, services, construction, and agriculture. A key distinction is between the informal sector (unregistered economic units) and informal employment (workers in informal arrangements).

Economic role and drivers: In many developing economies, informality accounts for a sizable share of employment and income, providing livelihoods in contexts where formal jobs are scarce. Informality can offer flexibility and resilience but often limits productivity, wages, and access to finance and social protection. Factors driving informality include regulatory costs, bureaucratic barriers, weak enforcement, and limited formal sector growth.

Policy and measurement: Governments pursue formalization through simplified registration, lower compliance costs, and expanded social protection for small producers. Measures by international organizations distinguish informal employment from the informal sector and rely on surveys and national accounts. Regional patterns show higher informality in low- and middle-income countries, with variations by gender, age, and urbanization.