Fast Fashion Child Labor Statistics

Boys accounted for 97 million children in child labor in 2020 [1]

Girls accounted for 63 million children in child labor in 2020 [1]

The prevalence of child labor among boys was 11.2 percent in 2020 [1]

The prevalence of child labor among girls was 7.8 percent in 2020 [1]

Boys accounted for 50 million children in hazardous work in 2020 [1]

Girls accounted for 29 million children in hazardous work in 2020 [1]

Children aged 5 to 11 made up 49 percent of all child laborers in 2020 [1]

Between 2000 and 2012, the number of girls in child labor fell by 40 percent [2]

Between 2000 and 2012, the number of boys in child labor fell by 25 percent [2]

In 2012, children aged 5 to 11 accounted for 47 percent of all those in child labor [2]

In the Bangladesh survey, 96.7 percent of hazardous child laborers were boys [3]

In the Bangladesh survey, 3.3 percent of hazardous child laborers were girls [3]

Human Rights Watch documented children as young as 11 working in small garment factories in Bangladesh [4]

In Turkey, Syrian refugee children as young as 8 were found working in garment supply chains [5]

Children made up 12 percent of all those in forced labor in 2021 [6]

Females accounted for 54 percent of people in forced labor in 2021 [6]

Males accounted for 46 percent of people in forced labor in 2021 [6]

Garment workers in India’s Tamil Nadu spinning mills under the Sumangali scheme were often recruited between the ages of 14 and 18 [7]

SOMO documented girls as young as 14 in Sumangali-linked spinning mills [8]

UNICEF says almost half of all 160 million children in child labor are aged 5 to 11 [9]

The same World Bank source says women make up 80 percent of garment workers worldwide [10]

Almost half of all 152 million child labourers in 2016 were aged 5 to 11 [11]

Better Work says women make up approximately 80 percent of the global garment workforce [12]

CARE reports women comprise 80 percent of garment workers globally [13]

The ILO says 65 percent of all children in child labour are below the minimum age for employment [11]

The ILO says 48 percent of all child labour victims are aged 5 to 11 in 2016 [11]

The ILO says 28 percent of child labour victims are aged 12 to 14 in 2016 [11]

The ILO says 25 percent of child labour victims are aged 15 to 17 in 2016 [11]

The U.S. Department of Labor’s 2024 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor includes apparel from 7 countries as being produced by child labor [14]

The same 2024 U.S. Department of Labor list includes textiles from 4 countries as being produced by child labor [14]

Sub-Saharan Africa had 86.6 million children in child labor in 2020 [1]

The prevalence of child labor in Sub-Saharan Africa was 23.9 percent in 2020 [1]

Central and Southern Asia had 26.3 million children in child labor in 2020 [1]

The prevalence of child labor in Central and Southern Asia was 5.5 percent in 2020 [1]

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia had 24.3 million children in child labor in 2020 [1]

The prevalence of child labor in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia was 6.0 percent in 2020 [1]

Northern Africa and Western Asia had 10.1 million children in child labor in 2020 [1]

The prevalence of child labor in Northern Africa and Western Asia was 7.8 percent in 2020 [1]

Latin America and the Caribbean had 8.2 million children in child labor in 2020 [1]

The prevalence of child labor in Latin America and the Caribbean was 5.5 percent in 2020 [1]

Europe and Northern America had 3.8 million children in child labor in 2020 [1]

The prevalence of child labor in Europe and Northern America was 2.3 percent in 2020 [1]

In 2012, 54 million children in child labor were in Asia and the Pacific [2]

In 2012, 59 million children in child labor were in Sub-Saharan Africa [2]

In 2012, 13 million children in child labor were in Latin America and the Caribbean [2]

In 2012, 9.2 million children in child labor were in the Middle East and North Africa [2]

In 2012, 1.2 million children in child labor were in developed economies and the European Union [2]

A 2014 University of Nottingham Rights Lab report estimated 418,000 people were in conditions of forced labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton harvest [15]

More than half of all forced labor and more than a quarter of all forced marriages occur in upper-middle-income or high-income countries [16]

Asia and the Pacific accounts for 15.1 million people in forced labor [17]

Europe and Central Asia accounts for 4.1 million people in forced labor [18]

The Arab States account for 0.9 million people in forced labor [19]

Africa accounts for 3.8 million people in forced labor [20]

The Americas account for 3.6 million people in forced labor [21]

In 2022, the United States imported $18.1 billion in apparel from Bangladesh [22]

In 2022, the United States imported $10.0 billion in apparel from India [22]

In 2022, the United States imported $6.2 billion in apparel from Cambodia [22]

In 2022, the United States imported $1.3 billion in apparel from Pakistan [22]

In 2022, the United States imported $103.8 billion in apparel from China [22]

In 2022, the United States imported $14.9 billion in apparel from Vietnam [22]

In 2022, the United States imported $1.9 billion in apparel from Indonesia [22]

The U.S. Department of Labor lists garments from Bangladesh as produced by child labor [14]

The U.S. Department of Labor lists garments from India as produced by child labor [14]

The U.S. Department of Labor lists garments from Pakistan as produced by child labor [14]

The U.S. Department of Labor lists textiles from India as produced by child labor [14]

The U.S. Department of Labor lists textiles from Egypt as produced by child labor [14]

The U.S. Department of Labor lists cotton from 18 countries as produced by child labor or forced labor [14]

The U.S. Department of Labor lists yarn from 2 countries as produced by child labor [14]

The U.S. Department of Labor lists silk cocoons from 3 countries as produced by child labor [14]

In India, 80 percent of child labor is concentrated in rural areas according to Save the Children India [23]

In 2016, 72 million child labourers were in Africa [11]

In 2016, 62 million child labourers were in Asia and the Pacific [11]

In 2016, 10.7 million child labourers were in the Americas [11]

In 2016, 1.2 million child labourers were in Arab States [11]

In 2016, 5.5 million child labourers were in Europe and Central Asia [11]

The 2016 child labour prevalence in Africa was 19.6 percent [11]

The 2016 child labour prevalence in Asia and the Pacific was 7.4 percent [11]

The 2016 child labour prevalence in the Americas was 5.3 percent [11]

The 2016 child labour prevalence in Europe and Central Asia was 4.1 percent [11]

The 2016 child labour prevalence in the Arab States was 2.9 percent [11]

Of the 160 million children in child labor in 2020, 79 million were in hazardous work [1]

Children aged 5 to 11 accounted for 28 percent of all children in hazardous work in 2020 [1]

Children aged 12 to 14 accounted for 35 percent of all children in hazardous work in 2020 [1]

Children aged 15 to 17 accounted for 37 percent of all children in hazardous work in 2020 [1]

The prevalence of hazardous work among boys was 5.7 percent in 2020 [1]

The prevalence of hazardous work among girls was 3.5 percent in 2020 [1]

In 2012, 85 million children were in hazardous work globally [2]

In 2012, 5.5 million children were in forced labor [2]

Bangladesh had 1.07 million children in hazardous child labor in 2022 [3]

Hazardous child labor prevalence in Bangladesh was 2.7 percent in 2022 [3]

Human Rights Watch found that some child workers in Bangladesh garment workshops worked 11-hour days [4]

The ILO and walk free estimated 27.6 million people were in forced labor on any given day in 2021 [6]

Of those in forced labor in 2021, 3.3 million were children [6]

State-imposed forced labor accounted for 14 percent of all forced labor cases in 2021 [6]

Commercial sexual exploitation accounted for 23 percent of all forced labor in 2021 [6]

Privately imposed labor exploitation accounted for 63 percent of all forced labor in 2021 [6]

17.3 million people were in forced labor exploitation in the private economy in sectors other than commercial sexual exploitation in 2021 [6]

6.3 million people were in forced commercial sexual exploitation in 2021 [6]

3.9 million people were in state-imposed forced labor in 2021 [6]

The ILO report on Tamil Nadu notes contract periods commonly lasted 3 years under the Sumangali scheme [7]

The Cotton Campaign reported 331 cases of forced labor identified during the 2021 Uzbek cotton harvest monitoring [24]

The ILO monitoring found 6 percent of pickers were at risk of involuntary labor in Uzbekistan in 2017 [25]

In 2017, 336 out of 3,001 pickers interviewed in Uzbekistan were unwilling to participate in the cotton harvest [25]

Of the 50 million people in modern slavery in 2021, 28 million were in forced labor [16]

Of the 28 million in forced labor, 3.3 million were children [16]

ETI says over 85 million children are in hazardous work [26]

UNICEF says 79 million children in child labor are in hazardous work [9]

Of those in 2016, 73 million were in hazardous work [11]

Anti-Slavery International says 28 million are in forced labour [27]

Anti-Slavery International says more than 3.3 million people in forced labour are children [27]

India has 1.2 million children working in hazardous industries including textile and garment production according to UNICEF India [28]

In 2020, 160 million children were engaged in child labor worldwide [1]

1 in 10 children worldwide were in child labor in 2020 [1]

Nearly half of all children in child labor, 72 million, were aged 5 to 11 in 2020 [1]

35 million children aged 12 to 14 were in child labor in 2020 [1]

37 million children aged 15 to 17 were in child labor in 2020 [1]

In 2012, 168 million children were in child labor globally [2]

In India, the 2011 Census recorded 10.1 million working children aged 5 to 14 [28]

Save the Children reports that 12 million children are trapped in child labor in India [23]

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reported 3.45 million working children aged 5 to 17 in 2022 [3]

Child labor prevalence in Bangladesh was 8.9 percent in 2022 [3]

In Bangladesh, 1.78 million children aged 5 to 17 were out of school in 2022 and engaged in work [3]

In Pakistan, 3.3 million children aged 10 to 14 were engaged in child labor according to the 1996 National Child Labour Survey cited by UNICEF [29]

In Pakistan, almost 8 million children aged 5 to 14 are economically active [29]

SOMO reported that more than 200,000 girls and young women were working under Sumangali-type schemes in Tamil Nadu [8]

The Global Slavery Index estimated 50 million people were living in modern slavery on any given day in 2021 [16]

The Ethical Trading Initiative says around 170 million children are engaged in child labour worldwide [26]

The World Bank blog notes 75 million people are employed in the garment sector worldwide [10]

Save the Children India reports every sixth child in India is working to support the family [23]

The ILO says 152 million children were in child labour in 2016 [11]

Better Work reports the garment industry employs more than 60 million people worldwide [12]

CARE says 75 million people make our clothes worldwide [13]

Anti-Slavery International says there are 50 million people in slavery worldwide [27]

Child labor increased by 8.4 million children between 2016 and 2020 [1]

Agriculture accounted for 70 percent of all child labor in 2020 [1]

Services accounted for 20 percent of all child labor in 2020 [1]

Industry accounted for 10 percent of all child labor in 2020 [1]

The number of children in hazardous work rose by 6.5 million from 2016 to 2020 [1]

Worldwide, 9 million additional children were at risk of child labor by the end of 2022 due to COVID-19 [30]

Without critical social protection coverage, this COVID-related increase could rise to 46 million children at risk [30]

From 2000 to 2016, child labor had fallen by 94 million before the recent reversal [30]

In 2012, 59 percent of all child laborers worked in agriculture [2]

In 2012, 32 percent of all child laborers worked in services [2]

In 2012, 7 percent of all child laborers worked in industry [2]

Bangladesh’s child labor rate rose from 6.8 percent in 2013 to 8.9 percent in 2022 [3]

Bangladesh’s hazardous child labor rate rose from 3.5 percent in 2013 to 7.0 percent in 2022 among children aged 5 to 17 according to the survey release [3]

The ILO estimates illegal profits from forced labor amount to $236 billion per year [31]

Annual illegal profits per victim rose from $10,000 in 2014 to $14,000 in 2021 [31]

Annual illegal profits per victim in Europe and Central Asia reached nearly $26,000 [31]

Annual illegal profits per victim in the Arab States were nearly $16,000 [31]

Annual illegal profits per victim in Asia and the Pacific were nearly $12,000 [31]

Annual illegal profits per victim in Africa were about $5,000 [31]

Annual illegal profits per victim in the Americas were more than $21,000 [31]

Debt bondage accounts for 73 percent of total illegal profits from forced labor [31]

SOMO found workers in Sumangali schemes were typically promised a lump sum of 30,000 to 50,000 Indian rupees after completing their contracts [8]

The Cotton Campaign said the Uzbek government ended systematic child labor in the cotton harvest by 2021 [24]

The ILO third-party monitoring in Uzbekistan found child labor in cotton production had fallen to 1 percent by 2017 [25]

GoodWeave reports that it has removed more than 13,000 children from factories and workplaces since 1994 [32]

GoodWeave says its programs have reached more than 28,000 children with educational opportunities [32]

GoodWeave states it has improved working conditions for more than 125,000 workers [32]

GoodWeave has conducted more than 71,000 inspections to uncover child labor and labor abuses [32]

Remake reports garment workers globally earn about 2 percent of what consumers pay for clothing [33]

The Clean Clothes Campaign says wages in major garment-producing countries can be as little as 1 to 3 percent of the retail price of clothing [34]

UNICEF says child labor in sub-Saharan Africa rose from 23.9 percent to 24.9 percent over the last four years covered by the estimates [9]

UNICEF says 16.6 million more children were engaged in child labor in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 than four years earlier [9]

UNICEF says 9 million additional children are at risk of child labor because of COVID-19 [9]

UNICEF says without mitigation this could increase to 46 million additional children [9]

The World Bank says nearly 40 percent of workers in the global garment industry are informal workers [10]

Save the Children India says more than 60 percent of child labour in India is in agriculture [23]

In 2016, 71 percent of child labour was in agriculture [11]

In 2016, 17 percent of child labour was in services [11]

In 2016, 12 percent of child labour was in industry [11]

CARE says the garment industry is worth $1.7 trillion globally [13]