Children in employment (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. This indicator refers to children ages 5-17 years old engaged in any form of market production and certain types of non-market production (principally...
What the numbers show
Children in employment (15-17) is currently reported for 40 countries. The highest value is 4,592 in India; the lowest is 1.6 in Belarus.
The median across all reporting countries is 47.34, and the mean is 361.01.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2,863.
Over the past decade 10 countries rose and 25 fell. The largest increase was in Estonia (up 322.6%), and the largest decrease in Chile (down 91.2%).
Children in employment: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 4,592 | 2025 | β | rising |
| 2 | Pakistan | 2,969 | 2021 | down 10.3% | falling |
| 3 | United States of America | 2,174 | 2023 | up 48.7% | falling |
| 4 | Angola | 808.27 | 2025 | up 54.8% | rising |
| 5 | Peru | 642.65 | 2025 | down 29.2% | falling |
| 6 | Mali | 371.71 | 2020 | down 6.0% | rising |
| 7 | Cambodia | 340.26 | 2023 | down 28.9% | falling |
| 8 | Guatemala | 320.73 | 2022 | down 33.4% | flat |
| 9 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 273.48 | 2025 | up 38.2% | rising |
| 10 | Colombia | 258.99 | 2022 | down 59.9% | falling |
| 11 | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 248.33 | 2024 | up 18.9% | falling |
| 12 | Zambia | 219.76 | 2022 | β | flat |
| 13 | Ecuador | 219.72 | 2025 | up 31.1% | rising |
| 14 | Thailand | 159.68 | 2023 | down 51.6% | falling |
| 15 | Honduras | 159.13 | 2023 | down 27.0% | falling |
| 16 | Rwanda | 111.52 | 2021 | β | falling |
| 17 | Switzerland | 110.25 | 2025 | up 10.9% | flat |
| 18 | Russian Federation | 77.26 | 2025 | down 1.0% | flat |
| 19 | Austria | 66.76 | 2025 | down 6.6% | falling |
| 20 | Argentina | 47.61 | 2025 | down 9.2% | flat |
| 21 | Dominican Republic | 47.07 | 2025 | down 17.3% | falling |
| 22 | Paraguay | 43.97 | 2025 | down 25.6% | volatile |
| 23 | El Salvador | 41.39 | 2025 | down 57.9% | falling |
| 24 | Panama | 27.6 | 2024 | down 21.1% | falling |
| 25 | Republic of Moldova | 22.15 | 2025 | down 44.6% | falling |
| 26 | South Africa | 12.74 | 2024 | down 20.6% | volatile |
| 27 | Chile | 12.16 | 2025 | down 91.2% | volatile |
| 28 | Georgia | 9.11 | 2025 | down 46.2% | falling |
| 29 | Jordan | 8.74 | 2023 | down 80.9% | volatile |
| 30 | Albania | 8.5 | 2024 | up 25.4% | volatile |
| 31 | Romania | 6.9 | 2024 | down 73.6% | volatile |
| 32 | Uruguay | 5.33 | 2025 | β | volatile |
| 33 | Malta | 4.66 | 2024 | down 4.5% | falling |
| 34 | Hungary | 3.97 | 2024 | up 207.7% | volatile |
| 35 | Greece | 3.16 | 2025 | β | rising |
| 36 | Botswana | 3.11 | 2024 | down 63.7% | falling |
| 37 | Costa Rica | 2.79 | 2022 | down 91.1% | volatile |
| 38 | Slovenia | 2.53 | 2024 | down 26.6% | falling |
| 39 | Estonia | 2.08 | 2024 | up 322.6% | rising |
| 40 | Belarus | 1.6 | 2024 | up 6.1% | 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. This indicator refers to children ages 5-17 years old engaged in any form of market production and certain types of non-market production (principally that of goods such as agricultural produce for own use). This includes work in both the formal and informal economy, inside and outside family settings, for pay or profit (cash or in-kind, part-time or full-time) and domestic work outside the child's own household for an employer (paid or unpaid). Data disaggregated by economic activity are provided according to the latest version of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) available for that year. Data may have been regrouped from national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISIC. For more information, refer to the Child Labour Statistics (CHILD) database description.