A general view of street vendors at the Adjame main market in Abidjan July 20, 2026. Estimated at more than 60% in the early 1970s, the number of Africans working in the informal sector has continued to grow in recent years and now stands at nearly 83%, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). More than 90% of the working population is concerned in Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Mali or Nigeria, while the figure reaches 80% in the Democratic Republic of Congo or Ghana. (Photo by Issouf SANOGO / AFP via Getty Images)