eLearning Tools on Child Labour

  1. eLearning tools on child labour

    The eLearning tools are designed to help to better understand what child labour is and the key role ILO stakeholders can play.

Child Labour

Facts and figures

  • Worldwide 218 million children between 5 and 17 years are in employment.
    Among them, 152 million are victims of child labour; almost half of them, 73 million, work in hazardous child labour.
  • In absolute terms, almost half of child labour (72.1 million) is to be found in Africa; 62.1 million in the Asia and the Pacific; 10.7 million in the Americas; 1.2 million in the Arab States and 5.5 million in Europe and Central Asia.
  • In terms of prevalence, 1 in 5 children in Africa (19.6%) are in child labour, whilst prevalence in other regions is between 3% and 7%: 2.9% in the Arab States (1 in 35 children); 4.1% in Europe and Central Asia (1 in 25); 5.3% in the Americas (1 in 19) and 7.4% in Asia and the Pacific region (1 in 14).
  • Almost half of all 152 million children victims of child labour are aged 5-11 years.
    42 million (28%) are 12-14 years old; and 37 million (24%) are 15-17 years old.
  • Hazardous child labour is most prevalent among the 15-17 years old. Nevertheless up to a fourth of all hazardous child labour (19 million) is done by children less than 12 years old.
  • Among 152 million children in child labour, 88 million are boys and 64 million are girls.
  • 58% of all children in child labour and 62% of all children in hazardous work are boys. Boys appear to face a greater risk of child labour than girls, but this may also be a reflection of an under-reporting of girls’ work, particularly in domestic child labour.
  • Child labour is concentrated primarily in agriculture (71%), which includes fishing, forestry, livestock herding and aquaculture, and comprises both subsistence and commercial farming; 17% in Services; and 12% in the Industrial sector, including mining.
Source: Global Estimates of Child Labour: Results and trends, 2012-2016, Geneva, September 2017.

News

  1. News

    World Day Against Child Labour Event in Ordu

    13 June 2018

  2. World Day Against Child Labour

    B-roll: Giving Madagascar’s child domestic workers a second chance

    12 June 2018

  3. World Day Against Child Labour

    B-roll: Kailash Satyarthi - If the world can reach out to Mars, why can’t we reach out to every child who is in danger?

    12 June 2018

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Publications

  1. Child labour and forced labour

    Third-party monitoring of measures against child labour and forced labour during the 2017 cotton harvest in Uzbekistan

    01 February 2018

  2. Child labour statistics

    Ukraine: National Child Labour Survey 2014-2015 - Analytical Report

    12 December 2017

  3. Child labour statistics

    Jordan National Child Labour Survey 2016 – Analytical Report

    11 October 2017

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Events

  1. Event to mark the World Day Against Child Labour 2018 and the 20th Anniversary of the Global March Against Child Labour

    4 June 2018

Good practices

A mobile application against child labour

  1. Eliminating and preventing child labour: Checkpoints for Companies

    This app allows business managers and auditors to create interactive checklists that will help them ensure a child labour-free operation. There are 18 checkpoints in total, divided into six categories. Each checkpoint provides best-practice recommendations for taking action.

Videos on child labour