Brazil Child Labor Falls 9.2% to 1.5 Million

BRAZIL · ECONOMY

Fewer Brazilian children are working than at any point since 2016, and the most dangerous work shrank too. The drop was concentrated in households that receive the Bolsa Família cash transfer.

Brazil child labor fell 9.2% in 2025 to 1.499 million children and teenagers, the statistics agency IBGE said on Friday, 16 October. That is 4.0% of the age group and the lowest level in IBGE’s survey series.

It matters to US readers because Brazil sells coffee, beef, tobacco and sugar abroad, and buyers check supply chains. The US Labor Department’s 2024 report lists 23 Brazilian goods, including coffee, beef and tobacco, as made with child labor.

What Brazil Child Labor Data Showed for 2025

IBGE took the figures from its household survey PNAD Contínua, which estimates child labor for ages 5 to 17. In 2024 the count was 1.65 million, or 4.3% of the age group, so the 2025 figure is 9.2% lower.

Of the 1.499 million, 1.141 million did economic activities and 358,000 produced only for their own household’s consumption. In 2016, the first year of the series, the rate was 5.2%, or 2.1 million by Poder360’s count.

By age, 1.1% of children aged 5 to 13 were in child labor, as were 5.9% of those aged 14 and 15. Among 16 and 17 year olds the rate was 14.5%, and IBGE says all three rates are series lows.

Worst Forms of Child Labor Fall 6.3%

IBGE counted 525,000 children and teenagers in the worst forms of child labor in 2025, down 6.3% from 560,000 in 2024. That is 1.4% of all Brazilians aged 5 to 17, against 2.3% and 919,000 in 2016.

The category follows the government’s list of worst forms, the Lista TIP, set by Decree 6,481 of 2008. O Globo reports it covers more than 90 activities, including tobacco and sugarcane production, mineral extraction and handling dangerous materials.

Boys were 72.6% of that group in 2025, and Black or brown children were 68.3%. Among working children aged 5 to 13, 72.2% were in the worst forms, O Globo reports.

Where Child Labor Is Highest in Brazil

The Southeast has the most child laborers, at 481,000, then the Northeast with 408,000 and the North with 249,000. The South has 233,000 and the Center-West 128,000, and the North has the highest rate, at 6.3%, against 3.3% in the Southeast.

Commerce employs 29.0% of working children, ahead of agriculture and livestock at 16.7% and industry at 12.5%. Hotels and food service take 12.2%, domestic service 6.5%, and other sectors 23.1%.

School attendance is lower among working teenagers, at 79.6% for ages 16 and 17 against 89.6% for all teenagers that age. Separately, 42.1% of the 37.8 million Brazilians aged 5 to 17 do unpaid housework or care, which IBGE does not count.

Why Bolsa Família Households Drove the Drop

IBGE says 13.1 million children and teenagers, or 34.7% of the age group, live in Bolsa Família households. Child labor in those homes fell 20.1% to 573,000, or 4.4% of the group, which is over 95% of the national decline.

Those homes earn BRL 660 per person a month (about US$130), against BRL 1,990 (about US$392) in non-recipient homes. The 2016 gap between recipient homes and the national rate was 2.1 percentage points, and in 2025 it was 0.4 points.

IBGE researcher Gustavo Fontes said the fall was sharper among program beneficiaries, as reported by Agência Brasil. The Rio Times has a separate explainer on Bolsa Família and the election.

What It Means for US Readers

US companies that buy Brazilian coffee, beef, cocoa or tobacco face child labor due diligence, which a lower rate eases only slightly. Agriculture is 16.7% of child labor, so farm supply chains stay under scrutiny.

US policymakers use the Labor Department list to flag goods made with child labor. The 2024 listing for Brazil names 23 goods, and this IBGE survey does not say which products still involve children.

Conversions here use 5.08 reais per US dollar, the central bank’s PTAX selling rate on 16 October. The release has no direct market effect on Brazilian assets.

What Is Not Known

IBGE estimates these figures from a household sample, so each number has a margin of error that its summary does not state. The Lista TIP count uses a proxy classification of survey answers, not a legal finding of any violation.

The release names no products or companies and does not split the fall between Bolsa Família and jobs. Outlets differ on a few minor sub-figures, so this article uses only numbers that IBGE and a second outlet agree on.

Whether the decline continues in 2026 is not known, because the survey covers one year at a time. Poder360, citing Agência Brasil, reports the count rose 7% in 2022 and 2.1% in 2024, so past falls have reversed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many children worked in Brazil in 2025?

IBGE counted 1.499 million children and teenagers aged 5 to 17 in child labor, or 4.0% of the age group. That is 9.2% fewer than the 1.65 million in 2024.

What are the worst forms of child labor?

They are activities on Brazil’s Lista TIP, set by Decree 6,481 of 2008, such as hazardous farm work and mining. IBGE counted 525,000 children in them in 2025, down 6.3%.

Where is child labor highest in Brazil?

The Southeast has the most children in child labor, at 481,000, and the North has the highest rate, at 6.3%. The Northeast follows the Southeast with 408,000.

Why did Brazil child labor fall in 2025?

IBGE does not give a single cause, but researcher Gustavo Fontes said the fall was sharper among Bolsa Família beneficiaries. Child labor in those households fell 20.1%, over 95% of the national decline.

Does this affect US imports from Brazil?

The survey does not name products or exporters. The US Labor Department’s 2024 report lists 23 Brazilian goods tied to child labor, including coffee, beef and tobacco.

Sources: IBGE, Agência de Notícias, PNAD Contínua child labor 2025, 16 October; Poder360 (from Agência Brasil), 16 October; InfoMoney (from O Globo), 16 October; US Department of Labor, Brazil child labor findings (2024 report) (all accessed 16 October 2026).