Overview

• Children in child labor accounted for 4.3% of those aged 5–17 in 2024, up 2.1% from 2023 (+34,000) yet 21.4% below 2016 levels.
• Boys made up 66% of those affected and Black or Brown children 66%; adolescents 16–17 years represented 55.5% of the total, with their incidence rising to 15.3%.
• The Northeast had the largest contingent (547,000) while the North showed the highest share (6.2%); the South posted the biggest yearly increase (13.6%) as the North fell 12.1%.
• About 560,000 were in the worst forms of child labor (Lista TIP), the lowest number in the series, while school attendance among those in child labor was 88.8% versus 97.5% overall.
• Incidence was higher in Bolsa Família households (5.2% versus 4.3% nationally) though the gap has narrowed over the series, according to IBGE.