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 2020, around 160 million children worldwide were working.
List
List of child labour rates according to ILO estimates.
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (July 2023) |
Rank | Country | Child labour rate in % (total) |
Child labour rate in % (male) |
Child labour rate in % (female) |
Ages | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Burkina Faso | 50.3 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2012 |
2 | Somalia | 43.5 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2010 |
3 | Ethiopia | 40.5 | 48.3 | 32.1 | 5–17 | 2015 |
4 | Haiti | 37.8 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2012 |
5 | Uganda | 36.7 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2012 |
6 | Niger | 36.2 | 43.6 | 27.7 | 5–17 | 2014 |
7 | Cameroon | 33.4 | 36.8 | 30.1 | 5–17 | 2014 |
8 | Togo | 32.9 | 34.5 | 31.2 | 5–17 | 2017 |
9 | Madagascar | 29.9 | 33.4 | 26.2 | 5–17 | 2018 |
10 | Nigeria | 28.7 | 29.9 | 27.5 | 5–17 | 2017 |
11 | Mozambique | 27.4 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2008 |
12 | Laos | 26.3 | 26.2 | 26.4 | 5–17 | 2017 |
13 | Malawi | 25.9 | 26.7 | 25.2 | 5–17 | 2015 |
14 | Tonga | 25.9 | 32.9 | 18.5 | 5–17 | 2019 |
15 | Zimbabwe | 25.6 | 31.8 | 19 | 5–17 | 2019 |
16 | Tanzania | 22.8 | 24.2 | 21.3 | 5–17 | 2014 |
17 | Sierra Leone | 21 | 22.4 | 19.6 | 5–17 | 2017 |
18 | Burundi | 20.5 | 21.5 | 19.4 | 5–17 | 2017 |
19 | Kyrgyzstan | 20.1 | 24.2 | 15.6 | 5–17 | 2018 |
20 | Guinea | 19.5 | 21.1 | 17.8 | 5–17 | 2016 |
21 | Afghanistan | 19 | 23.6 | 13.8 | 5–17 | 2014 |
Nepal | 19 | 19 | 19 | 5–17 | 2014 | |
23 | Chad | 17.7 | 18.1 | 17.3 | 5–17 | 2015 |
24 | Ivory Coast | 17.5 | 19.3 | 15.8 | 5–17 | 2016 |
25 | Senegal | 17.1 | 25.6 | 8.6 | 5–17 | 2016 |
26 | Benin | 17 | 17.9 | 16.1 | 5–17 | 2018 |
27 | Yemen | 16.1 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2010 |
28 | Paraguay | 15.5 | 19.4 | 11.5 | 5–17 | 2016 |
29 | Thailand | 15.1 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2006 |
30 | Sudan | 15.3 | 17.3 | 13.2 | 5–17 | 2014 |
31 | Ghana | 14.8 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 5–17 | 2018 |
32 | Bolivia | 13.9 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2015 |
33 | Gambia | 13.6 | 15.5 | 11.9 | 5–17 | 2018 |
34 | Eswatini | 13.3 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2010 |
35 | Peru | 13.2 | 15.3 | 11 | 5–17 | 2015 |
36 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 12.8 | 12 | 13.5 | 5–17 | 2014 |
37 | Mauritania | 12.6 | 14.8 | 10.4 | 5–17 | 2015 |
38 | Liberia | 11.9 | 13.6 | 10.2 | 5–17 | 2010 |
39 | Mali | 11.8 | 13.8 | 9.5 | 5–17 | 2017 |
40 | Cambodia | 11.5 | 10.8 | 12.2 | 5–17 | 2012 |
41 | Republic of the Congo | 10.8 | 10.3 | 11.4 | 5–17 | 2015 |
42 | Angola | 9.7 | 8.9 | 10.4 | 5–17 | 2016 |
43 | Guyana | 9.6 | 9.1 | 10.2 | 5–17 | 2014 |
44 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 9.2 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 5–17 | 2018 |
45 | Guinea-Bissau | 9.1 | 11.1 | 6.8 | 5–17 | 2019 |
North Macedonia | 9.1 | 11.1 | 6.8 | 5–17 | 2019 | |
Serbia | 9.1 | 11.1 | 6.8 | 5–17 | 2019 | |
48 | Philippines | 9.0 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2011 |
49 | Kenya | 8.5 | ... | ... | ... | 2021 |
50 | Honduras | 8.4 | 12 | 4.5 | 5–17 | 2019 |
51 | Lesotho | 8.2 | 11.1 | 5.4 | 5–17 | 2018 |
52 | Myanmar | 8.1 | 8.7 | 7.5 | 5–17 | 2015 |
53 | Mongolia | 7.9 | 9.2 | 6.5 | 5–17 | 2018 |
54 | El Salvador | 7.8 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2013 |
– | World | 7.9 | 9.3 | 6.4 | 5–17 | 2020 |
55 | Guatemala | 7.3 | 10.2 | 4.3 | 5–17 | 2013 |
56 | Timor-Leste | 7.2 | 7.6 | 6.8 | 5–17 | 2016 |
57 | Kiribati | 7.1 | 8.7 | 5.5 | 5–17 | 2019 |
58 | Bangladesh | 5.9 | 8.7 | 3 | 5–17 | 2019 |
59 | Rwanda | 5.9 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2014 |
60 | Dominican Republic | 5.6 | 6.8 | 4.3 | 5–17 | 2014 |
61 | Ecuador | 4.9 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 5–17 | 2019 |
62 | Ukraine | 4 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 5–17 | 2015 |
63 | Armenia | 3.9 | 4.9 | 2.7 | 5–17 | 2015 |
Venezuela | 3.9 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2013 | |
65 | Indonesia | 3.7 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2010 |
66 | Egypt | 3.6 | 5.6 | 1.4 | 5–17 | 2014 |
67 | Mexico | 3.5 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 5–17 | 2019 |
Suriname | 3.5 | 4.5 | 2.4 | 5–17 | 2018 | |
69 | Costa Rica | 3.4 | 4 | 2.7 | 5–17 | 2018 |
Tunisia | 3.4 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2012 | |
71 | Vietnam | 3.2 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 5–17 | 2018 |
72 | Iraq | 3.1 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 5–17 | 2018 |
73 | Zambia | 3 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 5–17 | 2018 |
74 | Algeria | 2.8 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 5–17 | 2013 |
75 | Albania | 2.7 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 5–17 | 2010 |
Jamaica | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.1 | 5–17 | 2016 | |
77 | Turkey | 2.6 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2006 |
78 | Chile | 2.4 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 5–17 | 2012 |
Panama | 2.4 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 5–17 | 2014 | |
80 | Belarus | 2.3 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2012 |
Belize | 2.3 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 5–17 | 2013 | |
82 | Colombia | 2 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 5–17 | 2019 |
83 | Argentina | 1.8 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 5–17 | 2017 |
Georgia | 1.8 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 5–17 | 2015 | |
85 | Bhutan | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 5–17 | 2010 |
86 | Brazil | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 5–17 | 2016 |
87 | Jordan | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 5–17 | 2016 |
88 | India | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 5–17 | 2018 |
89 | Sri Lanka | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 5–17 | 2016 |
90 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 5–17 | 2011 |
91 | Sweden | ?.? | ?.? | ?.? | 0-20 | 2007 |
By region
Region | Child labour rate in % (Ages 5–17 total) |
Child labour rate in % (Ages 5–17 male) |
Child labour rate in % (Ages 5–17 female) |
Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Africa | 18 | 20.3 | 15.6 | 2020 |
Latin America and the Caribbean | 4.3 | 5.5 | 3 | 2020 |
Northern America | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2020 |
Northern Europe | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2020 |
Eastern Europe | 4.6 | 5.2 | 4 | 2020 |
Western Europe | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2020 |
Southern Europe | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1 | 2020 |
Eastern Asia | 2.8 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 2020 |
South-Eastern Asia | 9.2 | 10.9 | 7.4 | 2020 |
Central Asia | 11.9 | 13.1 | 10.7 | 2020 |
Western Asia | 6.3 | 7.4 | 5.1 | 2020 |
Southern Asia | 4.5 | 5.8 | 2.9 | 2020 |
Pacific Islands | 7.7 | 8.8 | 6.5 | 2020 |
References
- "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.
- "Let's end child labour in Kenya | UNICEF Kenya". www.unicef.org. Retrieved 2023-06-20.