List of countries by child labour rate
The List of countries by child labour rate provides rankings of countries based on their rates of child labour. Child labour is defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as participation in economic activity by underage persons aged 5 to 17. Child work harms children, interferes with their education, and prevents their development. The prevalence of child labour is notable in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa. In 2025, nearly 138 million children worldwide were working, compared to around 160 million in 2020.[1][2]
List
The list of child labour rates according to ILO estimates.[3]
| Country | Child labour rate in %[1][4] | Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Male | Female | ||
| Burundi | 53.5 | 52.2 | 54.9 | 2020 |
| Niger | 42.4 | 45.2 | 39.4 | 2022 |
| Uganda | 40.1 | 40.6 | 39.6 | 2021 |
| Cameroon | 33.4 | 38.5 | 32.8 | 2014 |
| Chad | 30.9 | 33.8 | 27.8 | 2024 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 30.4 | 30.0 | 30.7 | 2022 |
| Nigeria | 28.1 | 28.7 | 27.6 | 2022 |
| Vanuatu | 26.7 | 26.0 | 27.4 | 2023 |
| Nicaragua | 25.9 | 33.3 | 17.9 | 2012 |
| Tonga | 25.9 | 32.9 | 18.5 | 2019 |
| Togo | 25.7 | 23.7 | 27.8 | 2022 |
| Zimbabwe | 25.6 | 31.8 | 19.0 | 2021 |
| Madagascar | 24.7 | 24.3 | 25.1 | 2022 |
| Malawi | 24.1 | 20.1 | 28.1 | 2020 |
| Laos | 21.8 | 22.2 | 21.4 | 2023 |
| Haiti | 21.6 | 22.4 | 20.2 | 2012 |
| Liberia | 21.1 | 20.8 | 21.5 | 2019–20 |
| Mali | 21.0 | 22.1 | 19.8 | 2020 |
| Sierra Leone | 21.0 | 22.5 | 19.6 | 2017 |
| Guinea | 19.5 | 21.1 | 17.8 | 2016 |
| Nepal | 19.2 | 19.0 | 19.3 | 2014 |
| Ethiopia | 18.7 | 21.4 | 15.9 | 2021 |
| Burkina Faso | 18.4 | 16.7 | 20.2 | 2022 |
| Central African Republic | 18.4 | 17.3 | 19.5 | 2018–19 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 18.0 | 21.6 | 14.3 | 2023 |
| Uzbekistan | 17.8 | 21.1 | 14.5 | 2021–22 |
| Peru | 16.2 | 16.7 | 15.7 | 2021 |
| Benin | 16.0 | 17.8 | 14.2 | 2021–22 |
| Fiji | 15.6 | 18.8 | 12.3 | 2021 |
| Gambia | 15.1 | 16.0 | 14.1 | 2022–23 |
| Sudan | 15.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 2022 |
| Tanzania | 15.0 | 16.9 | 13.0 | 2020–21 |
| DR Congo | 14.7 | 14.2 | 15.3 | 2020 |
| Solomon Islands | 13.8 | 13.8 | 13.8 | 2015 |
| Afghanistan | 13.3 | 15.6 | 10.9 | 2022–23 |
| Honduras | 12.9 | 17.5 | 8.2 | 2023 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 12.8 | 12.4 | 13.3 | 2022 |
| Bolivia | 12.6 | 13.1 | 12.0 | 2023 |
| Guatemala | 12.2 | 15.5 | 8.9 | 2022 |
| Eswatini | 11.3 | 11.0 | 11.7 | 2021–22 |
| Mozambique | 10.9 | 11.6 | 10.3 | 2022 |
| Congo | 10.8 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 2014–15 |
| Cambodia | 10.4 | 11.1 | 9.6 | 2021 |
| Angola | 9.7 | 8.9 | 10.4 | 2015–16 |
| Serbia | 9.1 | 11.1 | 6.8 | 2019 |
| Senegal | 8.6 | 12.6 | 4.7 | 2022 |
| Egypt | 8.5 | 11.1 | 5.6 | 2023 |
| Lesotho | 8.2 | 11.1 | 5.4 | 2018 |
| Myanmar | 8.1 | 8.7 | 7.6 | 2015 |
| Montenegro | 7.7 | 8.4 | 6.9 | 2018 |
| Yemen | 7.7 | 10.0 | 5.3 | 2022–23 |
| Kiribati | 7.1 | 8.6 | 5.5 | 2018–19 |
| Bangladesh | 7.0 | 9.5 | 4.4 | 2022 |
| Samoa | 6.9 | 8.7 | 4.9 | 2022 |
| Pakistan | 6.8 | 10.1 | 3.2 | 2021 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 6.7 | 6.1 | 7.4 | 2019 |
| Palestine | 6.3 | 9.2 | 3.3 | 2019–20 |
| Mongolia | 6.0 | 6.8 | 5.1 | 2023 |
| Comoros | 5.8 | 6.7 | 4.9 | 2022 |
| Vietnam | 5.7 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 2020–21 |
| Zambia | 5.7 | 6.2 | 5.2 | 2022 |
| Turkey | 5.6 | 6.7 | 4.5 | 2022 |
| Ghana | 5.5 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 2022 |
| Gabon | 5.4 | 7.0 | 3.9 | 2019–21 |
| Guyana | 4.9 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 2019–20 |
| Paraguay | 4.9 | 7.2 | 2.6 | 2023 |
| Azerbaijan | 4.8 | 6.4 | 2.9 | 2023 |
| Kenya | 4.3 | 5.3 | 3.2 | 2021 |
| Mexico | 4.3 | 5.9 | 2.6 | 2022 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 4.2 | 5.4 | 3.0 | 2022 |
| Chile | 4.1 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 2023 |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | 4.1 | 5.7 | 2.2 | 2019–20 |
| Belarus | 4.0 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 2019 |
| North Korea | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 2017 |
| Armenia | 3.9 | 4.9 | 2.7 | 2015 |
| Kosovo | 3.8 | 5.5 | 1.9 | 2019–20 |
| Timor-Leste | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 2022 |
| Tuvalu | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 2019–20 |
| Uruguay | 3.7 | 5.1 | 2.3 | 2010 |
| Rwanda | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 2016–17 |
| Costa Rica | 3.4 | 4.0 | 2.7 | 2018 |
| Ecuador | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2022 |
| Suriname | 3.4 | 4.4 | 2.4 | 2018 |
| Dominican Republic | 3.1 | 4.1 | 2.0 | 2019 |
| Iraq | 3.1 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 2018 |
| Mauritania | 3.1 | 4.3 | 1.7 | 2019 |
| El Salvador | 2.9 | 4.1 | 1.6 | 2023 |
| Albania | 2.8 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 2010 |
| Jamaica | 2.6 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 2022 |
| North Macedonia | 2.4 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 2018–19 |
| Belize | 2.2 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 2013 |
| Ukraine | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2012 |
| Algeria | 1.9 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 2018–19 |
| Panama | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 2023 |
| Saint Lucia | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 2012 |
| South Africa | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 2015 |
| Argentina | 1.8 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 2016–17 |
| Bhutan | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2010 |
| Indonesia | 1.7 | – | – | 2021 |
| Tunisia | 1.7 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 2023 |
| Brazil | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2022 |
| Georgia | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 2015 |
| Colombia | 1.3 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 2022 |
| Barbados | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 2012 |
| Jordan | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 2016 |
| Philippines | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 2022 |
| India | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 2023 |
| Sri Lanka | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 2016 |
| Nauru | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2023 |
| Turkmenistan | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2015–16 |
By region
| Region | Child labour rate in % (Ages 5–17 in 2020) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Male | Female | |
| Africa | 18.0 | 20.3 | 15.6 |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 4.3 | 5.5 | 3.0 |
| Northern America | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Northern Europe | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Eastern Europe | 4.6 | 5.2 | 4.0 |
| Western Europe | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Southern Europe | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
| Eastern Asia | 2.8 | 3.9 | 1.6 |
| South-Eastern Asia | 9.2 | 10.9 | 7.4 |
| Central Asia | 11.9 | 13.1 | 10.7 |
| Western Asia | 6.3 | 7.4 | 5.1 |
| Southern Asia | 4.5 | 5.8 | 2.9 |
| Pacific Islands | 7.7 | 8.8 | 6.5 |
References
- ^ a b "Child Labor Statistics". UNICEF DATA. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
- ^ "Child labour: Global Estimates 2020" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-06-20.
- ^ "ILO Data Explorer: Proportion of children engaged in economic activity". www.ilo.org. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban; Roser, Max (2016-02-09). "Child Labor". Our World in Data.