The informal economy, which represents a growing part of many countries’ economic activity, is a key area where the IOE has been engaged. There was a General Discussion on the issue at the International Labour Conference in 2002 and the ILO has made it a high priority and is developing assistance programmes for countries to address the issue.

The main policy objective of the IOE is to try and bring this informal activity within the parameters of the formal economy through promoting policies which aim to provide an enabling environment for those engaged in informal activities to be able to progress to the formal economy without destroying, in the meantime, the only means of livelihood available to millions of people in developing countries.