Home › Indicators › Children in child labor (ages 5-17)
Children in child labor (ages 5-17)
What this indicator measures
Child labor refers to work that deprives children of their childhood, their schooling or their health, or that is too hard for their age. This indicator gives the share of children aged 5 to 17 affected, based on household surveys. Only countries with a recent survey are included.
How to read this?
A high percentage means that many children are affected by child labor.
Ranking : ranked from lowest to highest
In brief
The "Children in child labor (ages 5-17)" ranking covers 64 countries and territories. Lowest value: Turkmenistan (0.3 %). Highest value: Burundi (53.8 %). Median: 10.6 % (data: 2012–2025). The top 10% of countries exceed 32.3 %, while the bottom 10% stay below 3.2 %. By continent, the median is highest in Oceania (23.7 %) and lowest in North America (6 %).
Median by continent
- Oceania 23.7 % (6)
- Africa 19.2 % (33)
- Europe 8.9 % (4)
- South America 6.2 % (4)
- Asia 6.1 % (12)
- North America 6 % (5)
Why this indicator matters
Child labor deprives some minors of schooling, health or time to grow up. Measuring its share among 5-17 year olds makes it possible to compare the actual protection of childhood.
What makes this indicator vary
How common it is depends on household poverty, access to school, the role of farm or family work, legislation on minimum age and the state's means of enforcement.
Reading precautions
The figures come from household surveys carried out at different dates; only countries with a recent survey appear. National definitions vary and part of the work remains hard to detect.
Full ranking
ranked from lowest to highest
| Rank | Country | Value | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1er | 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan | 0.3 % | 2016 |
| 2e | 🇮🇳 India | 1.1 % | 2025 |
| 3e | 🇨🇴 Colombia | 2.3 % | 2022 |
| 4e | 🇲🇲 Myanmar (Burma) | 2.3 % | 2020 |
| 5e | 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste | 2.5 % | 2022 |
| 6e | 🇲🇷 Mauritania | 3.1 % | 2019 |
| 7e | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | 3.2 % | 2023 |
| 8e | 🇸🇷 Suriname | 3.4 % | 2018 |
| 9e | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | 3.6 % | 2025 |
| 10e | 🇬🇭 Ghana | 3.6 % | 2024 |
| 11e | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 3.8 % | 2022 |
| 12e | 🇩🇿 Algeria | 4 % | 2019 |
| 13e | 🇰🇪 Kenya | 4.3 % | 2021 |
| 14e | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | 5.5 % | 2021 |
| 15e | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | 5.8 % | 2022 |
| 16e | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 6 % | 2022 |
| 17e | 🇿🇲 Zambia | 6 % | 2022 |
| 18e | 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago | 6.1 % | 2022 |
| 19e | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 6.7 % | 2021 |
| 20e | 🇰🇮 Kiribati | 6.9 % | 2019 |
| 21e | 🇼🇸 Samoa | 7.1 % | 2022 |
| 22e | 🇰🇲 Comoros | 7.6 % | 2022 |
| 23e | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 7.7 % | 2022 |
| 24e | 🇱🇸 Lesotho | 8.5 % | 2018 |
| 25e | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | 8.5 % | 2018 |
| 26e | 🇷🇸 Serbia | 8.6 % | 2022 |
| 27e | 🇸🇳 Senegal | 8.7 % | 2022 |
| 28e | 🇾🇪 Yemen | 8.9 % | 2023 |
| 29e | 🇬🇾 Guyana | 9 % | 2020 |
| 30e | 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | 9.2 % | 2019 |
| 31e | 🇸🇹 São Tomé & Príncipe | 9.7 % | 2019 |
| 32e | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | 10.3 % | 2025 |
| 33e | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | 10.8 % | 2022 |
| 34e | 🇱🇦 Laos | 11 % | 2022 |
| 35e | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 11.1 % | 2015 |
| 36e | 🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire | 12.8 % | 2022 |
| 37e | 🇨🇩 Congo - Kinshasa | 15.1 % | 2020 |
| 38e | 🇸🇿 Eswatini | 15.3 % | 2022 |
| 39e | 🇸🇩 Sudan | 16 % | 2022 |
| 40e | 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | 16.2 % | 2023 |
| 41e | 🇭🇹 Haiti | 16.5 % | 2012 |
| 42e | 🇧🇯 Benin | 17 % | 2022 |
| 43e | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | 18.8 % | 2022 |
| 44e | 🇬🇳 Guinea | 19.2 % | 2016 |
| 45e | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | 20.2 % | 2017 |
| 46e | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 22.3 % | 2021 |
| 47e | 🇹🇻 Tuvalu | 22.7 % | 2020 |
| 48e | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | 23.3 % | 2014 |
| 49e | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | 24.6 % | 2019 |
| 50e | 🇫🇯 Fiji | 24.8 % | 2021 |
| 51e | 🇹🇴 Tonga | 24.8 % | 2019 |
| 52e | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | 25.4 % | 2019 |
| 53e | 🇹🇬 Togo | 25.8 % | 2022 |
| 54e | 🇲🇼 Malawi | 26.9 % | 2024 |
| 55e | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | 27 % | 2022 |
| 56e | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 29.2 % | 2022 |
| 57e | 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau | 32.3 % | 2022 |
| 58e | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | 32.4 % | 2014 |
| 59e | 🇹🇩 Chad | 33.2 % | 2019 |
| 60e | 🇬🇦 Gabon | 34.7 % | 2021 |
| 61e | 🇺🇬 Uganda | 40.7 % | 2021 |
| 62e | 🇳🇪 Niger | 42.4 % | 2022 |
| 63e | 🇻🇺 Vanuatu | 45.4 % | 2023 |
| 64e | 🇧🇮 Burundi | 53.8 % | 2020 |
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the highest value for "Children in child labor (ages 5-17)"?
The highest value is in Burundi, at 53.8 % (2020).
Which country has the lowest value for "Children in child labor (ages 5-17)"?
The lowest value is in Turkmenistan, at 0.3 % (2016).
What is the world median value of "Children in child labor (ages 5-17)"?
The world median is 10.6 %, calculated across 64 countries: half of the countries are above it, the other half below.
Where does the "Children in child labor (ages 5-17)" data come from?
It comes from OIT – ILOSTAT : part des enfants en situation de travail des enfants, 5-17 ans (ODD 8.7.1). Site last updated: November 8, 2026. Each country is shown with the year of its most recent value.
What is called child labor?
It is work that deprives children of their childhood, their schooling or their health, or that is too hard for their age.
Is all work by a child counted?
No. Small age-appropriate tasks that harm neither school nor health are not counted as child labor.
Source and update
Source : OIT – ILOSTAT : part des enfants en situation de travail des enfants, 5-17 ans (ODD 8.7.1). Site last updated: November 8, 2026.
Indicators in the same category : Work and social rights
- Non-respect of freedom of association and collective bargainingThe International Labour Organization (ILO) rates, based on official texts and national sources, how far a country respects the right to form and join trade unions and to bargain collectively. The rating runs from 0 (fullest respect) to 10 (weakest respect).
- Population covered by at least one social benefitSocial protection covers public support such as family allowances, pensions, unemployment benefits, and help in case of illness or disability. This ILO indicator gives the share of the population that receives at least one of these benefits or is covered by a social insurance scheme.
- Legal monthly minimum wageThe minimum wage is the lowest monthly pay an employer is allowed to pay, set by law or by a national agreement. Countries with no national legal minimum wage (some countries where wages are set by sector agreements) are absent. Amounts are gross, for one month of full-time work. Here, the amount is converted into US dollars at the exchange rate of the year.
- Statutory monthly minimum wage in purchasing power parityThe minimum wage is the lowest monthly pay that an employer is allowed to pay, set by law or by a national agreement. Countries without a national statutory minimum wage (some countries where wages are set by sector-level agreements) are absent. Amounts are gross, for one month of full-time work. Here, the amount is adjusted for price differences between countries (purchasing power parity), which makes it easier to compare what can be bought with it.
- Employees covered by a collective agreementA collective agreement is an accord between employers and trade unions that sets working rules (pay, hours, leave) for an entire sector or company. This indicator is the share of employees to whom such an agreement applies, whether or not they are union members.
- Trade union membership rateA trade union is an organization that defends the interests of workers. The union membership rate is the share of employees who are members of a union. The data come from administrative statistics or national surveys, depending on the country.
- Legal retirement age (women)This is the age at which the law allows women to retire with a full pension. When the law provides for a gradual increase, the age in force in the year shown is used. Countries whose age depends on several conditions (long careers, number of children, etc.) and is given as a range are not included.
- Legal retirement age (men)This is the age at which the law allows men to retire with a normal pension. When the law provides for a gradual increase, the age in force in the year shown is used. Countries where the age depends on several conditions (long careers, number of children, etc.) and is given as a range are left out.