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Urban Informality in Sub-Saharan Africa: Profiling Workers and Firms in an Urban Context

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dc.contributor.authorCunningham, Wendy
dc.contributor.authorNewhouse, David Locke
dc.contributor.authorRicaldi, Federica
dc.contributor.authorTchuisseu Seuyong, Feraud
dc.contributor.authorViollaz, Mariana
dc.contributor.authorEdochie, Ifeanyi Nzegwu
dc.date.accessioned2024-02-20T14:57:18Z
dc.date.available2024-02-20T14:57:18Z
dc.date.issued2024-02-14
dc.description.abstractThis paper describes the state of informal sector work in urban Sub-Saharan Africa, using household surveys from 26 countries representing 61 percent of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa and firm surveys from three countries. Five main conclusions emerge. First, the urban informal sector is large and persistent in Sub-Saharan Africa. Approximately 56 to 65 percent of urban workers are informal, half of whom are self-employed. Data from five countries suggest little systematic reduction in the prevalence of informality during the 2010s. Second, heterogeneity in the African informal sector cuts along demographic lines. Women are overrepresented in informal self-employment, men in informal wage work, and youth in unpaid employment. Third, while the urban informal workers are, on average, poorer and in less-skilled occupations than formal sector workers, the majority are not extremely poor and are in mid-skilled occupations. Fourth, informal enterprises are small and are challenged to survive and grow into job-creating firms. Few find much benefit from registration given the costs, both monetary (taxes) and transactional (information about the registration process). Fifth, access to urban public services (utilities) is weakly associated with the probability of working in an informal job, although access to mobile phones is high across all job types. If thriving urban jobs are to contribute to economic and social development in Africa, it will be crucial for policies and programs to take into consideration the heterogeneity in jobs, the profile of workers, and the urban context.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099417402142413528/IDU1e9d2d68a110ad14aaa1af9a110e90bd603f1
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10703
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/41081
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWashington, DC: World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper; 10703
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.subjectINFORMAL SECTOR
dc.subjectURBAN INFORMAL SECTOR
dc.subjectSELF-EMPLOYMENT
dc.subjectLOW SKILLED WORKERS
dc.subjectWOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE
dc.titleUrban Informality in Sub-Saharan Africaen
dc.title.subtitleProfiling Workers and Firms in an Urban Contexten
dc.typeWorking Paper
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleUrban Informality in Sub-Saharan Africa: Profiling Workers and Firms in an Urban Context
okr.date.disclosure2024-02-14
okr.date.lastmodified2024-02-14T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypePolicy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099417402142413528/IDU1e9d2d68a110ad14aaa1af9a110e90bd603f1
okr.guid099417402142413528
okr.identifier.docmidIDU-e9d2d68a-10ad-4aaa-af9a-10e90bd603f1
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10703
okr.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-10703
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum34258473
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum34258473
okr.identifier.reportWPS10703
okr.import.id3203
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099417402142413528/pdf/IDU1e9d2d68a110ad14aaa1af9a110e90bd603f1.pdfen
okr.region.geographicalAfrica
okr.sectorPublic Administration - Social Protection
okr.themeFinancial Infrastructure and Access,Gender,Human Development and Gender,Data Development and Capacity Building,Social Protection,Social Development and Protection,Finance,Private Sector Development,Public Sector Management,Jobs,Social Insurance and Pensions,Data production, accessibility and use,Payment & markets infrastructure,Social protection delivery systems,Social Safety Nets
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Employment and Unemployment
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Work & Working Conditions
okr.unitSocial Protection & Labor AFR 3 (HAWS3)
okr.unitEFI-AFR1-POV-Poverty and Equity (EAEPV)
relation.isAuthorOfPublication37bc44c3-8af5-5f13-acac-468a089b1e1e
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery37bc44c3-8af5-5f13-acac-468a089b1e1e
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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