Côte d'Ivoire's economy has been dominated by its formal sector, with much of its workforce operating in the informal economy. Despite this, there is limited empirical evidence quantifying the contribution of the informal sector to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This Policy Brief aims to fill that gap. This Policy Brief employs a data-driven approach using secondary sources such as national statistics reports and international databases to analyse the contribution of the informal economy to GDP. No primary empirical research was conducted. The analysis indicates that the informal sector contributes approximately 40% to Côte d'Ivoire's GDP, highlighting its significant role in the country's economic landscape. This Policy Brief underscores the importance of formalizing the informal economy for sustainable growth and poverty reduction. The findings suggest a need for targeted policies that support entrepreneurship and skill development within this sector. The recommendations include advocating for tax reforms to encourage informal business registration, investing in vocational training programmes, and promoting public-private partnerships to facilitate smoother integration into formal markets.
Traoré et al. (Sun,) studied this question.