United States

Region
Europe & Northern America
Prevalence
no survey in source
Children 5–17 in child labour1no survey
Government effort, worst forms of child labour2not assessed
Trafficking-response tier3Tier 1
ILO conventions4C138 not ratifiedC182 ratified 1999
Out of school, primary age (a driver)54%2022
Modern slavery, all ages6no estimate
Goods produced with child labour7none listed

United States beside its surveyed neighbours in Europe & Northern America1

All of Europe & Northern America
1Serbia9.1% 20192Montenegro7.7% 20183Mexico4.3% 20224Belarus4% 20195Ukraine4% 20156Albania2.8% 20107North Macedonia2.4% 20198Russia0% 2024

Law, programmes and updates

National law

  • United States: import ban on forced labour goods

    Bars goods made with forced or indentured labour from entry. Since 2000 the ban expressly includes forced or indentured child labour. US Customs enforces it through withhold release orders.

  • United States: federal child labour law

    Prohibits oppressive child labour and the shipment of goods produced with it. Several states loosened their own rules from 2025: since 1 January 2025 Indiana allows 16 and 17-year-olds to work the same hours as adults.

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