What is Informality?
Informality isn’t just poverty, it’s a hidden condition that locks people out of formal systems. Without secure property rights or access to legal and economic institutions, entire communities are excluded from opportunity. It’s a growing, invisible force that erodes trust, blocks upward mobility, and weakens prosperity for everyone, rich and poor alike.
Why It Matters
Informality doesn’t just impact those living in it, it threatens all of us. It silently erodes economies, fuels inequality, and undermines stability. If left unchallenged, this expanding ecosystem of exclusion will continue to shrink the middle class and put global prosperity at risk.
What Is Informality?
Informality is a condition of vulnerability and stress that comes from living an insecure, invisible existence, where a large segment of society is marginalized even from their own governments. It is a form of systemic disempowerment. People operate in unpredictability and get swallowed up in administrative processes when it comes to their rights, opportunities, access to justice, and security.
What It Is Not
Informality is not illegality, and it does not just refer to proof of labor or the ownership of homes or other physical properties. It is the inability to prove anything about oneself, what one owns, or what one is owed. Inability to have formal existence, academics call this property rights.
It Is Huge
Globally, informality is one of the key drivers of poverty, instability, and exploitation. it erodes the middle class, weakens economies, and threatens prosperity for everyone, even those outside its grasp. It is also one of the most straightforward and consequential global problems to solve, yet very little is being done about it.
Change Is Proven
Informality can be reversed. With the right tools and a shift in mindset, we can transform this silent crisis into a global opportunity—and build a future where dignity, inclusion, and prosperity are possible for all. Over 30 million people have successfully moved up to the middle class using the transformative method Reality Check Analysis.
The Documentary
At the heart of the campaign is storytelling, through the lens of award-winning cinematographers. The team has finished a first short form film giving a taste of the problem. We aim to document actual heroes of informality, deepen the exposure and reasons in over 10 countries. It will capture the lived experiences of those trapped in this social disease and those who have successfully escaped it. This compelling visual journey exposes the hidden toll of informality and reveals the powerful transformation possible through Reality Check Analysis (RCA). Learn More
A Proven Solution
70% Informals is more than awareness, it’s a call to action backed by results. Inspired by the groundbreaking work of economist Élena Panaritis, the campaign showcases Reality Check Analysis (RCA), a proven methodology that has already transformed millions of lives by securing property rights and unlocking lasting prosperity.
Donate To Our CauseDonate’s Impact Across the World in 2020
800,000
Gallons of Clean Water
22
Water Wells Installed
114,000
Children & Adults Helped
