Africa-Press – Angola. More than 6.9 million people were in informal employment during the 4th quarter of 2025, which represents 78.6% of the total employed population (8,876,650), according to the results of the Employment Survey in Angola (IEA) released on Wednesday in Luanda by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The document presented by the head of INE’s Demographic and Social Statistics Division, Adilson Muhongo, points out that, of informal jobs, around 3.2 million are held by men, while 3.7 million are held by women.
According to the survey, the informal employment rate was higher in rural areas compared to urban areas, also indicating that people with informal employment are mainly concentrated in the age group of 15 to 24 years (94%), with women outnumbering men.
With this data, the population with formal employment was estimated at around 1.9 million people.
On the other hand, the INE details that the working-age population (people aged 15 or older) was projected at approximately 22.4 million of which around 8.8 millionn declared having worked during the period under analysis, whether as employees, self-employed, interns, or in family businesses.
The survey also indicates that more than 2.2 million people were not engaged in any paid activity or other type of work, but were available to work and actively sought employment during the aforementioned period or in the subsequent 15 days.
The document adds that around 11.3 million people of working age were outside the labour force, meaning that they did not engage in any paid activity or any other type of work, were not available to work, and were not actively looking for a job.
The labour force participation rate was estimated at 49.6%, being higher for men (53.0%) than for women (46.3%), which demonstrates a greater male participation in the labour market, with a higher concentration in the age group of 25-34 years.
The labour force participation rate was higher in urban areas (61.9%) than in rural areas (24.7%). In other words, the participation in the labour force in urban areas is approximately twice as high as in rural areas.
The population outside the labour force was estimated at about 11.3 people, with approximately 47.0% of men and 53.7% of women, being higher in rural areas (75.3%) than in urban areas (38.1%).
The rate of the population outside the labour force is higher in the age group of young people aged 15-24, representing 68.3% (a group in which many young people are still students) and in the age group of the population aged 65 or older (a group in which many people are retired and others are physically unable to work due to advanced age).
According to the IEA results, more than half (54%) of people aged 15 and older did not look for a job and did not express availability to work.
Additionally, 42% declared that they had not looked for a job but would be available to work during that period under analysis or in the following 15 days.
Regarding the main economic activity, the data indicate that the employed population aged 15 and older mostly worked in wholesale and retail trade, representing 33.3%, followed by agriculture, forestry, and fishing (16.8%).
The data also indicate that the employed population in the manufacturing industry was estimated at 425,444 people, representing 4.8% of the employed population.
The results of the Employment Survey in Angola for the 4th quarter of 2025 feature a new methodology, given that it incorporates for the first time, the latest resolutions from the 19th, 20th and 21st International Conferences of Labour Statistics (ICLS), promoted by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
With this edition, a new statistical series of the Employment Survey in Angola begins. Due to the conceptual and methodological changes introduced, the results presented are not directly comparable with the data produced according to the previous methodology.
