Child Labor Worldwide

Click through the map to learn more about child labor in the garment industry.

Ava Fusco

China

Even though it is illegal to employ children under the age of 16, 8% of children are employed in China. Most of the children who work in China are trafficked from rural areas, and are employed in massive factories throughout major cities. Chinese children primarily make bricks and electronics, but many of them work in different phases of the fast fashion industry, from making garments to picking cotton.

Thailand

While Thai law mandates 12 years of free education, many vulnerable children, such as poor immigrants and those in the LGBT community, are forced to drop out of school due to discrimination or debt. This in turn increases their risk of going into the workforce at an extremely young age. The majority of children who work in Thailand are migrants and refugees from Laos and Cambodia, and often engage in dangerous work operating heavy machinery.

Uzbekistan

The 5th largest producer of cotton in the world, Uzbekistan has all but eliminated child labor in the cotton industry. Prior to the overhaul of child labor laws in Uzbekistan and the official abolishment of slavery in 2021, the Uzbek government was known for withholding welfare payments and education if children did not work, forcing many parents to send their children to the cotton fields to avoid getting their benefits taken away.

India

Over 8.2 million children work in India, with a majority of them being young girls from lower castes. India's garment industry is the second largest employer in the entire country, employing 100 million people. The majority of child laborers in India work in sweatshops and mills in Mumbai and Delhi.

Bangladesh

Many children, mostly adolescent boys, have been compelled to work during and after the COVID-19 pandemic due to increasing poverty levels. Families often cannot afford to send their children to school. Children in Bangladesh work long hours in garment factories, completing menial tasks such as folding, sorting and packaging clothes to be sent internationally.

Afghanistan

Over a quarter of children in Afghanistan work, either to make a living themselves or to support their families. Many children work in the country's lucrative carpet industry, often dropping out of school to weave at home. Children who work in the carpet industry risk eye strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and respiratory diseases as a result of inhaling wool particles.

Benin

Children from ages 6-17 are reportedly forced to pick cotton in Benin for long hours. They are often refugees from neighboring countries such as Togo and Burkina Faso. Child laborers in Benin are often trafficked, held under labor contracts for years by employers, and are in constant debt.

Burkina Faso

Over 50% of all adolescent boys in Burkina Faso are forced to work picking and producing cotton. Many of them are trafficked or coerced with the promise of money and education, only to find grueling work under abusive employers, who withhold food and other basic necessities until they meet a quota.

Ghana

Around 23,000 children are employed in the textile weaving industry in Ghana, one of the country's most lucrative exports. They are often exposed to harmful chemicals in the bright dyes used to make Dutch wax fabric, which is sold to eager tourists by street vendors.

Brazil

Over 3 million children are engaged in child labor throughout Brazil, Latin America's largest country. Child labor in Brazil has a long history dating back to Portuguese colonization, when Brazilian natives and Africans were taken as slaves on plantations: because of this, over 60% of Brazil's child laborers are Black or Indigenous. Children are widely involved in agricultural labor, such as cotton picking and production.

Argentina

Over 19% of children in Argentina are engaged in child labor, the majority of them being young Indigenous immigrants from Bolivia. While child labor is illegal in Argentina, traffickers often operate in underground factories and sweatshops. Immigrant children are subject to their documentation being confiscated, limited range of movement outside of the factories where they work, and only one meal a day.

Mexico

Children as young as five are engaged in labor in Mexico producing garments and leather goods such as shoes. The majority of children who work in Mexico are from the Puebla and Guanajuato states, which have extremely high rates of poverty: up to 60%.

United States

While the U.S is often considered a hallmark of freedom and equal rights, a dark truth lies underneath. Migrant children from Latin America have been found to be working illegally in slaughterhouses and factories across the country, according to a New York Times expo that was published in 2023. Companies that were found to employ children include Cheerios, J. Crew, Whole Foods and Ford.

Vermont

In Vermont, migrant children have been found to work on farms, specifically in the dairy industry, for companies such as Ben and Jerry's and Hannaford. Programs such as Migrant Justice's Milk With Dignity program allows farms to ensure that their employees are able to work safely and humanely.

China

Even though it is illegal to employ children under the age of 16, 8% of children are employed in China. Most of the children who work in China are trafficked from rural areas, and are employed in massive factories throughout major cities. Chinese children primarily make bricks and electronics, but many of them work in different phases of the fast fashion industry, from making garments to picking cotton.

traffic: the act of dealing or trading something illegal

fast fashion: the business model of copying clothing trends and mass producing them at an extremely low cost to sell for cheap

Image credit: AP Photo,  Sakchai Lalit 

Thailand

While Thai law mandates 12 years of free education, many vulnerable children, such as poor immigrants and those in the LGBT community, are forced to drop out of school due to discrimination or debt. This in turn increases their risk of going into the workforce at an extremely young age. The majority of children who work in Thailand are migrants and refugees from Laos and Cambodia, and often engage in dangerous work operating heavy machinery.

refugee: a person who has been forced to leave their country due to war, persecution or natural disaster

Uzbekistan

The 5th largest producer of cotton in the world, Uzbekistan has all but eliminated child labor in the cotton industry. Prior to the overhaul of child labor laws in Uzbekistan and the official abolishment of slavery in 2021, the Uzbek government was known for withholding welfare payments and education if children did not work, forcing many parents to send their children to the cotton fields to avoid getting their benefits taken away.

Image credit:  The Guardian 

India

Over 8.2 million children work in India, with a majority of them being young girls from lower castes. India's garment industry is the second largest employer in the entire country, employing 100 million people. The majority of child laborers in India work in sweatshops and mills in Mumbai and Delhi.

caste: the hereditary class system in Hindu societies, distinguished by religious purity or pollution

sweatshop: a factory where workers are employed for low wages under inhumane conditions

Image credit:  Triple Pundit 

Bangladesh

Many children, mostly adolescent boys, have been compelled to work during and after the COVID-19 pandemic due to increasing poverty levels. Families often cannot afford to send their children to school. Children in Bangladesh work long hours in garment factories, completing menial tasks such as folding, sorting and packaging clothes to be sent internationally.

Image credit:  Retail Detail 

Afghanistan

Over a quarter of children in Afghanistan work, either to make a living themselves or to support their families. Many children work in the country's lucrative carpet industry, often dropping out of school to weave at home. Children who work in the carpet industry risk eye strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and respiratory diseases as a result of inhaling wool particles.

Image credit:  Roberto Romano 

Benin

Children from ages 6-17 are reportedly forced to pick cotton in Benin for long hours. They are often refugees from neighboring countries such as Togo and Burkina Faso. Child laborers in Benin are often trafficked, held under labor contracts for years by employers, and are in constant debt.

Image credit:  Roel Burgler 

Burkina Faso

Over 50% of all adolescent boys in Burkina Faso are forced to work picking and producing cotton. Many of them are trafficked or coerced with the promise of money and education, only to find grueling work under abusive employers, who withhold food and other basic necessities until they meet a quota.

Image credit:  Andreas Schwaiger 

Ghana

Around 23,000 children are employed in the textile weaving industry in Ghana, one of the country's most lucrative exports. They are often exposed to harmful chemicals in the bright dyes used to make Dutch wax fabric, which is sold to eager tourists by street vendors.

Image credit:  Jaceck Sopotnicki,  Getty Images

Brazil

Over 3 million children are engaged in child labor throughout Brazil, Latin America's largest country. Child labor in Brazil has a long history dating back to Portuguese colonization, when Brazilian natives and Africans were taken as slaves on plantations: because of this, over 60% of Brazil's child laborers are Black or Indigenous. Children are widely involved in agricultural labor, such as cotton picking and production.

Argentina

Over 19% of children in Argentina are engaged in child labor, the majority of them being young Indigenous immigrants from Bolivia. While child labor is illegal in Argentina, traffickers often operate in underground factories and sweatshops. Immigrant children are subject to their documentation being confiscated, limited range of movement outside of the factories where they work, and only one meal a day.

Mexico

Children as young as five are engaged in labor in Mexico producing garments and leather goods such as shoes. The majority of children who work in Mexico are from the Puebla and Guanajuato states, which have extremely high rates of poverty: up to 60%.

United States

While the U.S is often considered a hallmark of freedom and equal rights, a dark truth lies underneath. Migrant children from Latin America have been found to be working illegally in slaughterhouses and factories across the country, according to a New York Times expo that was published in 2023. Companies that were found to employ children include Cheerios, J. Crew, Whole Foods and Ford.

Vermont

In Vermont, migrant children have been found to work on farms, specifically in the dairy industry, for companies such as Ben and Jerry's and Hannaford. Programs such as Migrant Justice's Milk With Dignity program allows farms to ensure that their employees are able to work safely and humanely.

Works Cited

Ashan, A. and Redfern, C. (2022, April 26). Tens of Thousands of Boys in Bangladesh Were Forced into Work During the Pandemic. Now School is Resuming Without Them. Time Magazine.  https://time.com/6170432/bangladesh-child-labor-pandemic/ 

Dreier, H. (2023, February 28). Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S. The New York Times.  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/25/us/unaccompanied-migrant-child-workers-exploitation.html 

Evans, J. (2017, June 27). "We Can't Refuse to Pick Cotton": Forced and Child Labor Linked to World Bank Group Investments in Uzbekistan. Human Rights Watch.  https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/06/27/we-cant-refuse-pick-cotton/forced-and-child-labor-linked-world-bank-group