# Nigeria's Informal Economy

> Nigeria's informal economy — unregistered markets, transport, artisans and micro-enterprises operating outside formal tax and regulatory systems — is estimated at 42.5% of GDP by the NBS's 2019-base rebasing and as high as 65% by an IMF study, with the NBS separately finding 92.3% of Nigerian workers in informal employment in Q3 2023. Estimates diverge sharply because agencies define and measure informality differently.

**Category:** Economy & Business · **Updated:** 2026-07-26 19:36:35 · **Canonical:** https://nigeriastuff.org/a/informal-economy

## Key facts
- **NBS informal-sector GDP share:** 42.5% of GDP, ₦86.85 trillion (2019, rebased 2019-base GDP series)
- **IMF estimate:** Up to 65% of GDP (IMF blog, Sub-Saharan Africa informality study, 2017)
- **Informal employment share:** 92.3% of employed persons, Q3 2023 (NBS Labour Force Statistics)
- **Rural vs. urban informal employment:** 97.2% rural vs. 87.5% urban (NBS, Q3 2023)
- **Estimated informal micro/small enterprises:** ~40 million (2024 Informal Economy Report, cited by Forbes Africa)
- **Largest sub-sector:** Retail and general trade, roughly 44% of informal activity
- **Tax participation among informal operators:** 89% report paying some form of tax, mostly market levies (Moniepoint-derived survey data)

## Sources
- Over Half Of Nigeria's GDP From Informal Sector, Says Report — Forbes Africa (https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2024/07/18/over-half-of-nigerias-gdp-from-informal-sector-says-report)
- GDP rankings: real estate overtakes oil sector with new rebasing format — Pulse Nigeria (citing National Bureau of Statistics) (https://www.pulse.ng/story/gdp-rankings-real-estate-overtakes-oil-sector-with-new-rebasing-format-2025072212505306891)
- Nigeria's informal economy accounts for 65% of GDP – IMF — Business a.m. Live (https://businessamlive.com/nigerias-informal-economy-accounts-65-gdp-imf/)
- 92% of Nigerian workers are in informal employment — NBS — Vanguard (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/02/92-of-nigerian-workers-are-in-informal-employment-nbs/)
- Nigeria's informal economy in five charts — TC Insights (TechCabal) (https://insights.techcabal.com/nigerias-informal-economy-in-five-charts/)

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