Zimbabwe Puts Informal Sector at 76% of Total Economy

Zimbabwe estimates that more than three-quarters of economic activity takes place in the informal sector, depriving the government of much-needed tax revenue, according to the findings of its first economic census.

While the high level of informalization has “increasingly become a significant source of livelihoods, its contribution to government revenue remains minimal due to non-compliance with the formal tax system,” the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency said in a report released in the capital, Harare, on Wednesday.

An informal trader in Harare, Zimbabwe

Photographer: Cynthia R Matonhodze/Bloomberg

Growing informalization is a “critical risk” to the economy as less than one quarter of formal businesses carry the tax burden, according to ...