Children in child labour (15-17) by country
This indicator is based on harmonized definitions used by the ILO in the context of producing global estimates. Data may differ from nationally reported figures. Child labour includes: (a) children 5-11 years old who did at least one hour of economic activity and/or more than 21 hours of unpaid household services,...
What the numbers show
Children in child labour (15-17) is currently reported for 42 countries. The highest value is 2,533 in India; the lowest is 0.169 in Malta.
The median across all reporting countries is 24.97, and the mean is 200.08.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 14,991.
Over the past decade 16 countries rose and 22 fell. The largest increase was in Egypt (up 628.8%), and the largest decrease in Chile (down 95.0%).
Children in child labour: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 2,533 | 2025 | β | rising |
| 2 | Pakistan | 1,683 | 2021 | up 5.9% | flat |
| 3 | Egypt | 1,318 | 2023 | up 628.8% | volatile |
| 4 | Ghana | 446.96 | 2024 | up 205.9% | volatile |
| 5 | Peru | 401.2 | 2025 | up 83.2% | rising |
| 6 | Mali | 296.38 | 2020 | up 94.0% | rising |
| 7 | Cambodia | 237.13 | 2023 | down 19.1% | rising |
| 8 | Ecuador | 197.08 | 2025 | up 66.5% | rising |
| 9 | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 190.76 | 2024 | up 24.2% | falling |
| 10 | Colombia | 159.97 | 2022 | down 12.7% | falling |
| 11 | Angola | 154.18 | 2025 | up 103.2% | rising |
| 12 | Guatemala | 141.17 | 2022 | down 23.8% | rising |
| 13 | Honduras | 108.49 | 2023 | down 34.0% | falling |
| 14 | Thailand | 97.69 | 2023 | down 52.7% | falling |
| 15 | United States | 88.41 | 2023 | up 32.2% | falling |
| 16 | Rwanda | 78.8 | 2021 | up 585.6% | rising |
| 17 | Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | 48.64 | 2025 | down 29.8% | falling |
| 18 | Switzerland | 44.07 | 2025 | up 36.2% | rising |
| 19 | Zambia | 27.98 | 2022 | β | rising |
| 20 | El Salvador | 26.34 | 2025 | down 62.5% | falling |
| 21 | Austria | 25.21 | 2025 | down 12.5% | falling |
| 22 | Dominican Republic | 24.72 | 2025 | up 246.2% | rising |
| 23 | Paraguay | 15.14 | 2025 | down 19.7% | volatile |
| 24 | Argentina | 13.41 | 2025 | down 14.9% | flat |
| 25 | South Africa | 8.93 | 2024 | down 29.8% | volatile |
| 26 | Jordan | 6.44 | 2023 | down 82.0% | volatile |
| 27 | Panama | 5.9 | 2024 | down 59.0% | falling |
| 28 | Romania | 3.93 | 2024 | down 23.5% | volatile |
| 29 | Chile | 3.39 | 2025 | down 95.0% | volatile |
| 30 | Russia | 3.33 | 2025 | down 22.1% | falling |
| 31 | Uruguay | 2.67 | 2025 | β | volatile |
| 32 | Botswana | 2.04 | 2024 | down 52.9% | falling |
| 33 | Hungary | 1.82 | 2024 | up 161.5% | volatile |
| 34 | Albania | 1.04 | 2024 | up 27.0% | volatile |
| 35 | Belarus | 0.93 | 2022 | down 1.0% | falling |
| 36 | Costa Rica | 0.878 | 2022 | down 94.9% | volatile |
| 37 | Georgia | 0.809 | 2025 | down 94.5% | volatile |
| 38 | Republic of Moldova | 0.741 | 2025 | down 9.3% | volatile |
| 39 | Greece | 0.621 | 2025 | β | rising |
| 40 | Estonia | 0.522 | 2024 | up 210.7% | volatile |
| 41 | Slovenia | 0.195 | 2024 | up 9.6% | volatile |
| 42 | Malta | 0.169 | 2023 | down 58.3% | falling |
About this data
This indicator is based on harmonized definitions used by the ILO in the context of producing global estimates. Data may differ from nationally reported figures. Child labour includes: (a) children 5-11 years old who did at least one hour of economic activity and/or more than 21 hours of unpaid household services, (b) children 12-14 years old who did at least 14 hours of economic activity and/or more than 21 hours of unpaid household services, and (c) children 15-17 years old who did at least 43 hours of economic activity. For more information, refer to the Child Labour Statistics (CHILD) database description.