Study reveals 14.6% reduction in child labor in Brazil in 2023
On Tuesday (Nov. 5), the Ministry of Labor and Employment released a preliminary study on child labor in Brazil, revealing a 14.6 percent decline in 2023 compared to the previous year.
The study Light Diagnosis of Child Labor - Brazil, by State is based on data from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad Contínua) conducted by the Brazilian government´s statistics agency IBGE.
Despite the overall decline, Roberto Padilha Guimarães, the national coordinator for Child Labor Inspection, emphasized in a statement that the situation remains concerning. "This reality calls for continued efforts to strengthen public policies aimed at preventing and combating child labor," he stated.
Brazil is committed to meeting target 8.7 of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the 2030 Agenda. The challenge is to eliminate all forms of child labor across the country by 2025.
Child labor data
In Brazil, 1.88 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 were engaged in economic activities or production for their own consumption in 2022. By 2023, this number had decreased to 1.61 million.
The study reveals a decline in child labor across 22 of Brazil's 27 states in 2023. However, five states experienced an increase: Tocantins saw a 45.2 percent rise; the Federal District increased by 32.2 percent; Rio de Janeiro recorded a 19.7 percent rise; Amazonas saw a 12 percent uptick; and Piauí experienced a 6 percent increase.
Minas Gerais and São Paulo have the highest absolute numbers of children and adolescents in child labor, with 213,928 and 197,470 minors, respectively. Together, these states account for 25 percent of the children and adolescents engaged in the worst forms of child labor in Brazil.
