Malaysia

Region
Eastern & South-Eastern Asia
Prevalence
no survey in source
Children 5–17 in child labour1no survey
Government effort, worst forms of child labour2not assessed
Trafficking-response tier3Tier 2
ILO conventions4C138 ratified 1997 · minimum age 15C182 ratified 2000
Out of school, primary age (a driver)512%2024
Modern slavery, all ages66.3 / 1,000about 202,000 people, in forced labour or forced marriage
Goods produced with child labour7
Palm Fruit · also forced labourElectronics · forced labour onlyGarments · forced labour onlyRubber Gloves · forced labour only

Malaysia beside its surveyed neighbours in Eastern & South-Eastern Asia1

All of Eastern & South-Eastern Asia
1Laos21.8% 20232Myanmar (Burma)8.1% 20153Cambodia7.8% 20234Mongolia6% 20235North Korea4% 20176Indonesia1.6% 20257Vietnam1% 20238Philippines0.8% 2023

Law, programmes and updates

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. 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
  3. 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
  4. ILO, NORMLEX ratification registers, C138 & C182; accessed 2026-07-02. Retrieval route
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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