International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)

© ILO/Ross, T.

Conflict and mass displacement increase child labour

Conflict and crisis in the Middle East and North Africa has led to an increase in child labour across the region, including in children’s involvement in armed conflict and other illicit activities, a new report finds.
Preventing Children’s Involvement in the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Kyrgyzstan: Action Plan for 2019-2024

On January 24, 2019 a meeting to refine the 2019-2024 Action Plan for preventing children’s involvement in the worst forms of child labour (WFCL) was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The working group was formed in May 2018 as part of the 2017-2027 Family Protection and Children Support Programme to be implemented by the Kyrgyz Government.
ILO InfoStories· website on labour issues

The website allows users to delve into a broad range of multimedia content on particular themes, such as child labour, forced labour, collective bargaining and discrimination in the workplace.
Only one third of children covered by social protection: ILO, UNICEF

A new report by UNICEF and the ILO highlights the critical need to extend social protection to all children.

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.

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Global Estimates of Child Labour

Results and trends, 2012-2016

The report charts how far we have come and how far we still have to go to honour the commitment to end child labour. It also discusses key policy priorities in the campaign to reach the 2025 target. The report, and the global estimation exercise that underpins it, form part of a broader inter-agency effort under Alliance 8.7 to measure and monitor progress towards target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Full Report
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- Regional Briefs: Africa, Americas, Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia
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