UNICEF: 138 million children doing child labour globally
Nearly 138 million minors were engaged in child labour worldwide in 2024, according to a new report released on Wednesday by UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The figure includes around 54 million children in work likely to jeopardize their health and safety.
Child labour occurs most frequently in agriculture, with the worst-hit region being sub-Saharan Africa, where 87 million children are affected.
The figures show a decline in child labour to almost 138 million in the 2021-24 period, down from 160 million in the 2016-20 period.
Nevertheless, the target of eliminating child labour by 2025, included in UN Development Goals, will not be reached.
The report came ahead of the World Day Against Child Labour which is being marked on Thursday.
"The new child labour report underlines the grim reality that millions of children are still being denied the right to learn, to play and simply to be a child, despite all progress," UNICEF Germany head Christian Schneider said.
The successes achieved pointed the way ahead through legal protection, better social protection, investment in free and high-quality education and work with dignity and fair pay for adults.
These were "effective instruments for protecting children from child labour," Schneider said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
World fails to meet 2025 child labor target
There are now 138 million child laborers, down from an estimated 160 million in 2020, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) said in a joint report that was released to mark Thursday's World Day against Child Labor. The drop represents good news for child welfare, as in 2000, the ILO estimated 245.5 million children were working. The almost 50% decrease is especially promising as the number of children has risen by 230 million over the same period. The number of children, which the ILO defines as 5 to 17-year-olds, engaged in "hazardous work" — mostly in mining, industrial or agricultural sectors — has also decreased from 79 million in 2020 to 54 million in 2025. However, the ILO says even optimistic estimates project it will be decades before child labor is completely eliminated. Around 86.6 million child laborers — almost two-thirds of all child laborers — are in sub-Saharan Africa. Nankali Maksud, regional advisor for child protection at UNICEF, told DW: "In terms of prevalence rate, it has been reduced. So we've gone from 24% to 22% between 2020 and 2024. But what we're challenged with in this region is the rapid population growth. So in absolute numbers, we haven't made much progress." Particularly concerning for Maksud is that younger children (aged 5 to 11) make up the largest share of child laborers. "We're not addressing seriously enough poverty at household level, particularly in rural areas. Unless we have the right political will and financing to lift those households, we will not be able to address child labor," she told DW. Additionally, Maksud believes regional efforts to increase access to quality education — through building schools and encouraging parents to send children to school — must be prioritized, as well as stronger enforcement of laws to punish child labor practices. Recommendations also include more stringent labor inspections in high-risk sectors like mining and agriculture, and improved supply chain accountability. "The majority of our countries have laws in place," Maksud told DW, noting that enforcement of those laws is weak. "The ministries responsible for issues like child labor, most of the time, they have the smallest budget lines." Lisa Zimmerman, head of the UNICEF country office in Madagascar, said 47% of 5- to 17-year-olds there are affected by child labor — much higher than in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. "Child labour affects boys a little bit more than girls. It also affects children in rural areas more than those in urban areas, and it generally affects children from poor families," Zimmerman told DW, adding that "32% of all children in Madagascar actually engaged in work under dangerous conditions, so that is the worst form of child labor." Multiple climate-related problems, from drought to cyclones, have plagued agriculture-dependent Madagascans. "Climatic shocks push families and children into labor, new forms of labor and into more hazardous forms of labor," Zimmermann told DW. Some rural communities in arid southwestern Madagascar have turned to mica mining, instead of alongside agricultural practices. Madagascar is the third largest exporter of mica, after Russia and India, and the sector has boomed in recent years as the mineral is used in the renewable energy sector. "It's then mostly children that have to climb into the mines to support their families and to have enough to eat," Zimmermann added. Mica mining in these communities often involves the whole family, from elders to young children. They also told UN researchers that if their family members do not work, they cannot afford to eat. While the ILO defines child labor as work that deprives children of their childhood, dignity, potential and development, especially with regard to schooling, communities across Africa have their own understandings of what constitutes child labor, and when it is necessary. Lydia Osei, a researcher from the University of Ghana, has observed trends within Ghanaian society. "Child labor is a huge problem, except we haven't as people made conscious efforts to deal with it," she told DW. Particularly under scrutiny in West Africa is child labor in mining, agriculture and housework. In Ghana, reports of child labor in cocoa farming and informal mining are rife. "I don't think any parent would want their child as young as 8 years to be at the quarrying site, to be hit and hurt. But because tradition allows that the child helps in the maintenance of the family, they take their children to artisanal mining sites," Osei told DW. Often, employers at mining sites participate in child labor by allowing children to work alongside their parents, with small children given jobs in sorting, or climbing into areas that adults cannot reach. "Usually, young people do not get physical cash as payment. They get some of the rocks or ore as payment," Osei told DW. "But because the underage workers are usually able to get something they classify as enough, they don't see it as exploitation. And that is why the relationship keeps going." As in other communities, the effects of children being unable to attend school and entering the job market early become apparent only in the long term. For this reason, the ILO and UNICEF say governments across sub-Saharan Africa need to introduce strategies that break the cycle of child labor. Despite the disappointment of not eliminating child labor by 2025, Maksud told DW progress is being made by the introduction legal frameworks to stop child labor, and a continent-wide growth in education opportunities, especially for girls. Maksud says as economies in sub-Saharan Africa grow it raises the chances that all communities will receive better opportunities. "Families are trying to survive and they're making choices not because they're bad people, but because they're trying to survive. And if we give them a way out that, maybe asking their children to work won't be a solution they pick," Maksud told DW. Edited by: Keith Walker
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
UNICEF: 138 million children doing child labour globally
Nearly 138 million minors were engaged in child labour worldwide in 2024, according to a new report released on Wednesday by UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO). The figure includes around 54 million children in work likely to jeopardize their health and safety. Child labour occurs most frequently in agriculture, with the worst-hit region being sub-Saharan Africa, where 87 million children are affected. The figures show a decline in child labour to almost 138 million in the 2021-24 period, down from 160 million in the 2016-20 period. Nevertheless, the target of eliminating child labour by 2025, included in UN Development Goals, will not be reached. The report came ahead of the World Day Against Child Labour which is being marked on Thursday. "The new child labour report underlines the grim reality that millions of children are still being denied the right to learn, to play and simply to be a child, despite all progress," UNICEF Germany head Christian Schneider said. The successes achieved pointed the way ahead through legal protection, better social protection, investment in free and high-quality education and work with dignity and fair pay for adults. These were "effective instruments for protecting children from child labour," Schneider said.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Despite progress, child labour still affects 138 million children globally - ILO, UNICEF
New report shows an almost 50 per cent reduction since start of century, but world fails to reach elimination targets GENEVA, NEW YORK and TORONTO, June 11, 2025 /CNW/ - Nearly 138 million children were engaged in child labour in 2024, including around 54 million in hazardous work likely to jeopardize their health, safety, or development, according to new estimates released today by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF. The latest data show a total reduction of over 20 million children since 2020, reversing an alarming spike between 2016 and 2020. Despite this positive trend, the world has missed its target of eliminating child labour by 2025. The report, titled "Child Labour: Global estimates 2024, trends and the road forward" , released one day ahead of the World Day Against Child Labour and on International Day of Play, underscores a stark reality that while gains have been made, millions of children are still being denied their right to learn, play, and simply be children. "The findings of our report offer hope and show that progress is possible. Children belong in school, not in labour. Parents must themselves be supported and have access to decent work so that they can afford to ensure that their children are in classrooms and not selling things in markets or in family farms to help support their family. But we must not be blindsided by the fact that we still have a long way to go before we achieve our goal of eliminating child labour," said the ILO's Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo. According to the data, agriculture remains the largest sector for child labour, accounting for 61 per cent of all cases, followed by services (27 per cent), like domestic work and selling goods in markets, and industry (13 per cent), including mining and manufacturing. Asia and the Pacific achieved the most significant reduction in prevalence since 2020, with the child labour rate dropping from 6 per cent to 3 per cent (from 49 million to 28 million children). Although the prevalence of children in child labour in Latin America and the Caribbean stayed the same over the past four years, the total number of children affected dropped from 8 million to about 7 million, the report notes. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to carry the heaviest burden, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all children in child labour – around 87 million. While prevalence fell from 24 to 22 per cent, the total number has remained stagnant against the backdrop of population growth, ongoing and emerging conflicts, extreme poverty, and stretched social protection systems. "The world has made significant progress in reducing the number of children forced into labour. Yet far too many children continue to toil in mines, factories or fields, often doing hazardous work to survive," said Catherine Russell. "We know that progress towards ending child labour is possible by applying legal safeguards, expanded social protection, investment in free, quality education, and better access to decent work for adults. Global funding cuts threaten to roll back hard-earned gains. We must recommit to ensuring that children are in classrooms and playgrounds, not at work." Sustained and increased funding – both global and domestic – is needed more than ever if recent gains are to be maintained, warn the agencies. Reductions in support for education, social protection on, social protection, and livelihoods can push already vulnerable families to the brink, forcing some to send their children to work. Meanwhile, shrinking investment in data collection will make it harder to see and address the issue. Child labour compromises children's education, limiting their rights and their future opportunities, and putting them at risk of physical and mental harm. It is also a consequence of poverty and lack of access to quality education, pushing families to send their children to work and perpetuating inter-generational cycles of deprivation. Boys are more likely than girls to be involved in child labour at every age, but when unpaid household chores of 21 hours or more per week are included, the gender gap reverses, the report notes. Since 2000, child labour has almost halved, from 246 million to 138 million, yet current rates remain too slow, and the world has fallen short of reaching the 2025 global elimination target. To end it within the next five years, current rates of progress would need to be 11 times faster. To accelerate progress, UNICEF and ILO are calling for governments to: Invest in social protection for vulnerable households, including social safety nets such as universal child benefits, so families do not resort to child labour. Strengthen child protection systems to identify, prevent, and respond to children at risk, especially those facing the worst forms of child labour. Provide universal access to quality education, especially in rural and crisis-affected areas, so every child can learn. Ensure decent work for adults and youth, including workers' rights to organize and defend their interests. Enforce laws and business accountability to end exploitation and protect children across supply chains. Notes to editors: Explore the data on child labour UNICEF multimedia content here. About UNICEF UNICEF is the world's leading humanitarian organization focused on children. We work in the most challenging areas to provide protection, healthcare and immunizations, education, safe water and sanitation and nutrition. As part of the United Nations, our unrivalled reach spans more than 190 countries and territories, ensuring we are on the ground to help the most disadvantaged children. While part of the UN system, UNICEF relies entirely on voluntary donations to finance our life-saving work. Please visit and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. SOURCE UNICEF Canada View original content to download multimedia: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
