Democratic Republic of the Congo

Region
Sub-Saharan Africa
Prevalence rank
47 of 100 measured
Children 5–17 in child labour17.5%2024 surveyUNICEF reading: 7.5% (DHS 2023-24), same producer2
Government effort, worst forms of child labour3Minimal advancement
Trafficking-response tier4Tier 2 WL
ILO conventions5C138 ratified 2001 · minimum age 14C182 ratified 2001
Out of school, primary age (a driver)665.3%1999
Modern slavery, all ages74.5 / 1,000about 407,000 people, in forced labour or forced marriage
Goods produced with child labour8
Cobalt Ore (heterogenite) · also forced labourCopper OreDiamondsGold · also forced labourTantalum Ore (coltan) · also forced labourTin Ore (cassiterite) · also forced labourTungsten Ore (wolframite) · also forced labour

Democratic Republic of the Congo beside its surveyed neighbours in Sub-Saharan Africa1

All of Sub-Saharan Africa
26Republic of the Congo10.8% 201527Senegal8.6% 202228Angola8.5% 202429Lesotho8.2% 201830Democratic Republic of the Congo7.5% 202431South Africa7% 201932São Tomé and Príncipe6.7% 201933Comoros5.8% 202234Ghana5.5% 2022

Law, programmes and updates

National law

  • DR Congo: minimum age

    Sets 18 as the minimum age for work and for hazardous work, according to the US Department of Labor’s reading of the codes.

Programmes working here

Sources

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  1. UNICEF / ILO via Our World in Data, Share of children aged 5-17 years engaged in labour, 2026-07-31; accessed 2026-10-15. Each country’s latest national survey. Retrieval route
  2. UNICEF, UNICEF global databases: Child labour (economic activity, children 5-17), UNICEF Data Warehouse extract 2026-07-03; accessed 2026-07-03. Same ILO/UNICEF producer: a coverage and freshness cross-check, shown beside the main series. Retrieval route
  3. US Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, 2024, published 2025-09-30; accessed 2026-07-02. Retrieval route
  4. US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, 2026, published 2026-10-08; accessed 2026-10-15. Released 8 October 2026; covers April 2025 to March 2026. Retrieval route
  5. ILO, NORMLEX ratification registers, C138 & C182; accessed 2026-07-02. Retrieval route
  6. UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, 2026-05-12; accessed 2026-07-03. A recognised driver of child labour. Retrieval route
  7. Walk Free, Global Slavery Index 2023 — estimated prevalence of modern slavery by country (Table 26), 2023, published 2023-05-24; accessed 2026-07-03. All ages, adults and children. Retrieval route
  8. US Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (TVPRA List), 2024, published 2024-09-05; accessed 2026-07-02. Forced-labour-only listings are shown apart. Retrieval route