ILO · Compliance with Labour Rights
Labour rights compliance by country
How fully does a country respect workers’ rights to form unions and bargain collectively?
Of the 186 countries compared in 2024, 13 countries shared the lowest reading, 0.00, and 3 countries shared the highest reading, 10.00. In the middle country the figure was 1.61. Among the 184 countries measured in every edition since 2015, the middle one moved from 1.51 to 1.62.
Share
Labour rights compliance · 2024
Context statistic
13 countries share the lowest value, 0.00 — no single country is named first.
012024 · values only
Who leads
The three countries at the lowest end of 186 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
Lowest in 2024 · shared
13 countries share the lowest reading, 0.00
No single country is named first: picking one from a shared value would be a choice the data does not make.
Highest in 2024
Myanmar10.00
Iran10.00
United Arab Emirates10.00
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
Labour rights compliance on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a lower value — the better end.
- 4.45–10.00
- 2.11–4.44
- 1.38–2.10
- 0.53–1.35
- 0.00–0.52
- No reading in 2024 (1 measured in an earlier edition)
- Europe
0.44
the middle country, of 40 measured · 49 members
11 share 0.00
Belarus9.92Lowest and highest reading in Europe.
- Oceania
1.42
the middle country, of 13 measured · 21 members
Kiribati0.56
Fiji4.18Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.
- Africa
1.79
the middle country, of 53 measured · 55 members
Malawi0.17
Sudan8.59Lowest and highest reading in Africa.
- Americas
2.00
the middle country, of 35 measured · 48 members
2 share 0.17
Venezuela8.91Lowest and highest reading in Americas.
- Asia
4.30
the middle country, of 45 measured · 52 members
2 share 0.00
3 share 10.00
Lowest and highest reading in Asia.
- Every region
22 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
- Northern Europe
0.00
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
8 share 0.00
United Kingdom1.23Lowest and highest reading in Northern Europe.
- Western Europe
0.35
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
2 share 0.17
Belgium0.52Lowest and highest reading in Western Europe.
- Southern Europe
0.89
the middle country, of 13 measured · 17 members
2 share 0.00
Albania1.88Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.
- Caribbean
1.03
the middle country, of 13 measured · 24 members
Dominica0.17
Bahamas2.00Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.
- Central Asia
1.43
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
2 share 0.51
Uzbekistan5.71Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.
- Eastern Europe
1.44
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Slovakia0.00Belarus9.92Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Middle Africa
1.45
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Republic of the Congo0.50
Equatorial Guinea4.80Lowest and highest reading in Middle Africa.
- Western Africa
1.63
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Cabo Verde0.47
Guinea-Bissau4.50Lowest and highest reading in Western Africa.
- Southern Africa
1.99
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Namibia0.88
Botswana2.91Lowest and highest reading in Southern Africa.
- Eastern Africa
2.06
the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members
Malawi0.17
Zimbabwe5.80Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.
- South America
3.28
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Suriname0.17Venezuela8.91Lowest and highest reading in South America.
- Western Asia
3.70
the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members
2 share 0.00
United Arab Emirates10.00Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.
- Central America
4.59
the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members
Belize0.53
Guatemala6.88Lowest and highest reading in Central America.
- Southern Asia
4.72
the middle country, of 8 measured · 9 members
Sri Lanka3.13Iran10.00Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.
- Northern Africa
5.25
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Tunisia1.48Sudan8.59Lowest and highest reading in Northern Africa.
- South-eastern Asia
5.95
the middle country, of 11 measured · 11 members
Timor-Leste0.50Myanmar10.00Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia0.69
New Zealand1.10Lowest and highest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Eastern Asia
4 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: China, Japan, Mongolia, South Korea.
Mongolia0.15
China9.13Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.
Papua New Guinea1.10Fiji4.18Lowest and highest reading in Melanesia.
- Micronesia
3 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Palau.
Kiribati0.562 share 1.55
Lowest and highest reading in Micronesia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
Canada0.36
United States3.83Lowest and highest reading in Northern America.
- Polynesia
4 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu.
Tonga0.87
Samoa1.67Lowest and highest reading in Polynesia.
03The whole field at once
The spread
186 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 1.61; a quarter are above 3.80, and a quarter below 0.71. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 187 ever measured
Every country
In order, lowest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. Lower is better here. The score is built from what the ILO’s supervisory bodies and national laws say, so a country the system has written little about can score well for that reason alone — the ILO marks some scores to be treated with care on exactly this ground, and the remark is kept in the downloadable data. Many countries share a perfect zero, so no position is shown.
Showing 25 of 187 countries
Values for 2024. The change column compares 2024 with 2023 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052015–2024 · 10 reference years
Over time
Each point is one year from 2015. A score changes only when a new supervisory comment or a change in the law is recorded, so long flat stretches are normal and a single step usually marks one specific event.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 184 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 186 | 1.61 | 0.71 – 3.80 | 1.62 |
| 2023 | 186 | 1.65 | 0.70 – 3.69 | 1.67 |
| 2022 | 186 | 1.53 | 0.71 – 3.17 | 1.55 |
| 2021 | 186 | 1.44 | 0.69 – 3.21 | 1.46 |
| 2020 | 186 | 1.43 | 0.69 – 2.94 | 1.44 |
| 2019 | 186 | 1.43 | 0.69 – 2.91 | 1.43 |
| 2018 | 187 | 1.43 | 0.69 – 3.07 | 1.44 |
| 2017 | 187 | 1.52 | 0.71 – 3.04 | 1.54 |
| 2016 | 187 | 1.46 | 0.70 – 3.17 | 1.46 |
| 2015 | 185 | 1.52 | 0.71 – 3.23 | 1.51 |
062023 → 2024
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after- Fiji5.73 → 4.18−1.55
Bangladesh10.00 → 9.06−0.94
Ecuador6.67 → 5.94−0.73
Indonesia2.02 → 1.41−0.61
Philippines5.59 → 5.01−0.58
Worsened most
before → after- Guinea-Bissau3.17 → 4.50+1.33
South Korea4.54 → 5.63+1.09
Moldova0.69 → 1.46+0.77
Mexico2.46 → 3.20+0.74
North Macedonia0.69 → 1.39+0.70
186 countries were measured in both 2023 and 2024.
07Across every edition
Labour rights compliance in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
Reached 21 times by 5 countries — shared, so no holder is named
10.00
Compliance with freedom of association and collective bargaining rights (0 = best, 10 = worst)
ILO · 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Lowest reading on record
Reached 127 times by 18 countries — shared, so no holder is named
0.00
Compliance with freedom of association and collective bargaining rights (0 = best, 10 = worst)
ILO · 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Biggest improvement between editions
−4.85
5.83 → 0.98
Biggest decline between editions
+4.28
1.90 → 6.18
Most improved since first measured
−4.08
5.83 → 1.75
08The measure
About labour rights compliance
This is the United Nations’ measure of whether workers can form trade unions and bargain collectively. The International Labour Organization scores each country from 0, where its supervisory bodies and the country’s laws show no violation of those rights, to 10, where they show the most. It is the official indicator for the labour-rights part of Sustainable Development Goal 8.
What the number is: Compliance with freedom of association and collective bargaining rights (0 = best, 10 = worst).
What it does not measure
It scores what the ILO’s supervisory bodies and national laws record, not what happens on the ground, so a country the system has written little about can score well for that reason; and it covers union and bargaining rights only, not pay, safety or forced labour.
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Work & Labour and Democracy & Civil Liberties, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Work & LabourDemocracy & Civil LibertiesWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where labour rights compliance is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Informal Employment RateILO · 95 countries in commonρ 0.56
- FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness IndexOECD · 102 countries in commonρ 0.54
- Youth Not in Education, Employment or TrainingILO · 92 countries in commonρ 0.53
Moves against
Where labour rights compliance is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Civic Space RatingsKeyCIVICUS · 185 countries in commonρ −0.63
- Women's Political Empowerment IndexKeyV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 169 countries in commonρ −0.63
- Voice and AccountabilityWorld Bank Group · 186 countries in commonρ −0.62
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 380 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The countries at either end
11Questions
Labour rights compliance: questions and answers
Which country has the lowest labour rights compliance?
13 countries share the lowest reading, 0.00, among the 186 compared in 2024, so no single country is named.
Which country has the highest labour rights compliance?
3 countries share the highest reading, 10.00, among the 186 compared in 2024, so no single country is named.
How many countries does the Compliance with Labour Rights cover?
186 in 2024, and 187 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 185 to 187 between editions.
What is the world average labour rights compliance?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 186 compared in 2024, the figure was 1.61.
Is this International Labour Organization (ILO)’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. International Labour Organization (ILO) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Compliance with Labour Rights published?
This site holds 10 reference years, 2015–2024, all recalculated in International Labour Organization (ILO)’s 2026 report on one method — not 10 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From International Labour Organization (ILO), under CC BY 4.0. SDG indicator 8.8.2, computed by the ILO from its supervisory bodies’ texts and national legislation, and read from ILOSTAT directly. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Compliance with Labour Rights — International Labour Organization (ILO)
SDG indicator 8.8.2, computed by the ILO from its supervisory bodies’ texts and national legislation, and read from ILOSTAT directly.
Newest edition
Report year 2024Data year 2024
Cite the source as: International Labour Organization. SDG indicator 8.8.2: Level of national compliance with labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining). ILOSTAT. Geneva: ILO.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-29.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: International Labour Organization (ILO) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Labour rights compliance by country: Compliance with Labour Rights, data from International Labour Organization (ILO). https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/labour-rights-compliance