Skip To Content
Statistical Briefs

Workers in Informal Employment in Türkiye: A Statistical Profile, 2019-2023

By , on June 30, 2025

Between 2019 and 2020, the number of persons employed in Türkiye fell by 640,000 for women and 500,000 for men – but between 2021 and 2023 increased by 2.5 million workers nationally, mainly among formal workers (72 to 75 per cent of total employment). This Statistical Brief (No. 42) focuses on four worker groups – domestic workers, home-based workers, market traders, and street vendors.

The majority of home-based workers, market traders and street vendors, as well as women domestic workers, were informal. Between 2019 and 2023, women’s employment in the four groups together increased from 8 to 11 per cent of total employment, but remained at around 3 per cent for men. Over the period, the major change in the worker groups was the shift in the industry of women home-based workers from textile manufacturing to professional and related services.

The data for this brief are based on the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Labour Force Surveys, conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT).

View list of all: Statistical Briefs

Download the PDF(this link opens in new window)

Citation Information

Koolwal, Gayatri, and Vanek, Joann. Workers in Informal Employment in Türkiye: A Statistical Profile, 2019-2023. Statistical Brief, 42, . WIEGO, 2025. https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/wiego-statistical-brief-42.pdfKoolwal, G., and Vanek, J. (2025). Workers in Informal Employment in Türkiye: A Statistical Profile, 2019-2023. Statistical Brief, 42, . https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/wiego-statistical-brief-42.pdfKoolwal, Gayatri, and Vanek, Joann. "Workers in Informal Employment in Türkiye: A Statistical Profile, 2019-2023." Statistical Brief, WIEGO, 2025, .Koolwal Gayatri, and Vanek Joann. "Workers in Informal Employment in Türkiye: A Statistical Profile, 2019-2023." Statistical Brief 42(2025). https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/wiego-statistical-brief-42.pdfKoolwal, G, and Vanek, J 2025, 'Workers in Informal Employment in Türkiye: A Statistical Profile, 2019-2023', Statistical Brief, 42, . https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/wiego-statistical-brief-42.pdfGayatri Koolwal, and Joann Vanek, 'Workers in Informal Employment in Türkiye: A Statistical Profile, 2019-2023' (2025) 42 Statistical Brief Koolwal G., and Vanek J. Workers in Informal Employment in Türkiye: A Statistical Profile, 2019-2023. Statistical Brief. 2025;42. https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/wiego-statistical-brief-42.pdfKoolwal, Gayatri, and Vanek, Joann. Workers in Informal Employment in Türkiye: A Statistical Profile, 2019-2023. Statistical Brief. 2025, 42, . https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/wiego-statistical-brief-42.pdf

The WIEGO Research Library

WIEGO is at the forefront of developing statistics and research to help audiences understand the informal economy. Our library includes over two decades-worth of informal economy research, policy analysis, statistics and documentation of organizing efforts.