Informal Sector

Commercial enterprises (mostly small) that are not registered or that otherwise fall outside official rules and regulations. Among the businesses that make up the informal sector, there is great diversity in the value of the goods or services produced, the numbers employed, the extent of illegality, and the connection to the formal sector. Many informal enterprises have some characteristics of formal-sector enterprises, and some people are in informal employment in the formal sector as they lack legal protection or employment benefits.