Inspectors, and what inspection finds

In 20 of the 28 countries for which ILAB prints both numbers, the labour inspectorate has fewer than half the inspectors ILAB says it needs.

Labour inspectors present, as a share of the number ILAB suggests
  1. Paraguay19 of 2298%
  2. Niger22 of 2349%
  3. Kenya152 of 1,35711%
  4. Tanzania92 of 64314%
  5. Chad30 of 15619%
  6. Ghana176 of 80122%
  7. Bangladesh442 of 1,86124%
  8. Ecuador143 of 55626%
  9. Brazil1,865 of 7,19026%
  10. The Gambia5 of 1729%
  11. Guatemala164 of 47834%
  12. Burundi43 of 12534%
  13. Cameroon224 of 64035%
  14. Philippines1,210 of 3,13739%
  15. El Salvador79 of 20339%
  16. Nigeria2,010 of 5,05940%
  17. Uganda198 of 46443%
  18. Mali75 of 16845%
  19. Benin64 of 13846%
  20. Côte d’Ivoire369 of 79147%
  21. Eswatini13 of 2650%
  22. Central African Republic25 of 4852%
  23. Honduras141 of 26254%
  24. Dominican Republic209 of 34161%
  25. Colombia1,156 of 1,68169%
  26. Peru877 of 1,23471%
  27. Madagascar235 of 30777%
  28. Zambia153 of 18085%

Half the suggested number (50%)

Cameroon, 2024: what labour inspection found
  1. Inspections7,284
  2. Child-labour violations found0
  3. Criminal investigations0
  4. Prosecutionsno prosecutions were initiated
  5. Convictionsno perpetrators convicted
A separate reading43.6Children aged 5–17 in child labour in the cocoa zones, % (survey October–December 2024)Institut National de la Statistique du Cameroun, cocoa study: the cocoa zones of the Centre, Est, Littoral and Sud regionsA narrower population than the national inspection figures: set beside them, never divided into them.
  • 224 labour inspectors; ILAB suggests 640.
Inspectors present against the number ILAB suggests
CountryLabour inspectorsSuggested by ILABShare of suggestedChild labour, % of children (survey year)
Paraguay192290.083unknown
Niger222340.09442.4% (2022)
Kenya1521,3570.1124.3% (2021)
Tanzania926430.14315% (2021)
Chad301560.19230.9% (2019)
Ghana1768010.225.5% (2022)
Bangladesh4421,8610.2387% (2025)
Ecuador1435560.2575% (2024)
Brazil1,8657,1900.2591.5% (2022)
The Gambia5170.29415.1% (2023)
Guatemala1644780.343unknown
Burundi431250.34453.5% (2020)
Cameroon2246400.3533.4% (2014)
Philippines1,2103,1370.3860.8% (2023)
El Salvador792030.3892.9% (2023)
Nigeria2,0105,0590.39728.1% (2022)
Uganda1984640.42740.1% (2021)
Mali751680.44621% (2020)
Benin641380.46416% (2022)
Côte d’Ivoire3697910.46612.8% (2022)
Eswatini13260.511.3% (2022)
Central African Republic25480.52118.4% (2019)
Honduras1412620.53812.9% (2023)
Dominican Republic2093410.6133.1% (2019)
Colombia1,1561,6810.6881.1% (2024)
Peru8771,2340.71113.2% (2024)
Madagascar2353070.76524.7% (2022)
Zambia1531800.8516.7% (2023)
What inspection finds, country by country, as ILAB printed it (2024)
A number is the number ILAB printed; words are ILAB’s words; unknown is what ILAB printed as unknown; “not printed” is a figure the country report does not give.
CountryLabour inspectorsInspectionsChild-labour violations foundCriminal investigationsProsecutionsConvictionsChild labour, % of children (survey year)
Burundi43720unknown183312853.5% (2020)
Niger22unknown0unknownunknownunknown42.4% (2022)
Uganda198unknownunknownunknownunknownunknown40.1% (2021)
Cameroon2247,28400no prosecutions were initiatedno perpetrators convicted33.4% (2014)
Chad30unknownunknownunknownunknownunknown30.9% (2019)
Guinea-Bissau21unknown002030.4% (2022)
Nigeria2,0107,61011not printed177 convictions28.1% (2022)
Vanuatuunknownnot printedunknownunknownunknownnot printed26.7% (2023)
Tongaunknownnot printedunknownunknownunknownunknown25.9% (2019)
Togounknownnot printedunknownnot made availablenot made availablenot made available25.7% (2022)
Zimbabweunknownnot printedunknownunknownunknownunknown25.6% (2019)
Madagascar235938not printedunknownunknownunknown24.7% (2022)
Malawi1681,357318unknown124.1% (2020)
Liberia109unknownunknownunknownunknownunknown21.1% (2020)
Mali75unknownunknownunknownunknownunknown21% (2020)
Sierra Leone28340unknown14 (January to September 2024)unknown (January to September 2024)0 (January to September 2024)21% (2017)
Guinea165unknown0conducted (number not printed)unknownunknown19.5% (2016)
Ethiopia500-600 (as stated in the suggested action)48,188unknown2628618.7% (2021)
Burkina Fasounknown1,825unknownunknownunknownunknown18.4% (2022)
Central African Republic250not printedunknownunknownunknown18.4% (2019)
Kyrgyz Republicfewer than 50801 (January to September)unknownunknownunknownunknown18% (2023)
Uzbekistan41116,92103unknownunknown17.8% (2022)
Zambia1532,055not printed4444unknown16.7% (2023)
Benin641,9689,842unknown512116% (2022)
Fiji485,246unknownunknownunknownunknown15.6% (2021)
The Gambia5unknown099115.1% (2023)
Tanzania9219,040unknownunknownat least 174 convictions15% (2021)
Afghanistanunknownnot printedunknownunknownunknownunknown13.3% (2023)
Peru8771,287 workplace inspections74224unknownunknown13.2% (2024)
Honduras1413910unknownunknown212.9% (2023)
Côte d’Ivoire369417 unannounced inspections (informal sector)756 cases of alleged child labor violations (informal sector)557456unknown12.8% (2022)
Eswatini131,10000 (April 1 to December 31, 2024)0 (April 1 to December 31, 2024)0 (April 1 to December 31, 2024)11.3% (2022)
Mozambique1565,870 labor inspectionsunknownunknownunknownunknown10.9% (2022)
Congo, Republic of the235unknown000110.8% (2015)
Indiaunknownnot printedunknownconducted; total number unknownnot printednot printed0.9% (2024)
Brazil1,865135,9352,754conducted (number not printed)unknownunknown1.5% (2022)
Paraguay1984321,8381210unknown
Pakistan128 inspectors (Sindh Labor Department)50,000 inspections (Sindh)1,209 violations (Punjab)not printednot printednot printedunknown
Bangladesh44234,0083,697unknownunknownunknown7% (2025)
Burma143unknownunknownunknownunknownunknown8.1% (2015)
Mexico660 federal labor inspectorsan estimated 33,000unknown26 documented investigations (additional)not printed8 convictions and sentences for child trafficking4.3% (2022)
Philippines1,21030,099unknown13630.8% (2023)
Bolivia1172,1030unknownunknownunknownunknown
Cambodia572 (previous count, p1)5479unknownunknownunknown7.8% (2023)
Kenya15214,632unknownunknown1024.3% (2021)
Argentina321 federal labor inspectors146,93817755851.8% (2017)
Colombia1,156unknown number of worksite inspections, including 562 site visits (authorized-to-work adolescents)02,0864561231.1% (2024)
Ecuador1434901329934219 convictions5% (2024)
Indonesia1,467 inspectorsunknownunknownunknownunknownunknown1.6% (2025)
Congo, Democratic Republic of theunknownunknownnot printedunknownunknownunknown7.5% (2024)
El Salvador7921,773 (of which 471 child labor-specific)1210 convictions2.9% (2023)
Ghana176856unknown10153 (under the 2005 Human Trafficking Act)5.5% (2022)
Nicaraguaunknownnot printedunknownunknownunknownunknownunknown
Guatemala16429,82845 (January 1 to November 21, 2024)173 (January 1 to August 16, 2024)73 (January 1 to August 16, 2024)34 (January 1 to August 16, 2024)unknown
Dominican Republic20938,6983026123.1% (2019)
Thailand2,85628,02919283216unknownunknown

What this joins

How it was computed

Inspectors present are divided by the number ILAB suggests, only where ILAB prints both as numbers (28 countries).

Each country’s inspections, child-labour violations, criminal investigations, prosecutions and convictions are shown exactly as ILAB printed them; an unknown stays unknown.

Cameroon’s national enforcement figures are set beside its statistics institute’s 2024 cocoa-zone survey, never divided into it.

What it does not show

  • ILAB’s suggested number rests on the ILO’s 2006 ratio (GB.297/ESP/3; 1 inspector per 40,000 workers in less developed economies). The ILO’s 2022 Guidelines say such a ratio “should not be used as a benchmark”. This is ILAB’s yardstick, shown as ILAB’s.
  • Cameroon: the 43.6% covers the cocoa zones of four regions; the inspectorate’s figures are national. Shown side by side, never divided.
  • Figures are as each government reported them to ILAB; ILAB does not audit them. “Unknown” is printed as unknown.

Read the method note Back to Analysis