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.

Highlights

  1. Conference

    IV Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labour, Buenos Aires, 14-16 November, 2017

    The ILO participates in the IV Global Conference on Child Labour which will bring together representatives from government, social partners, civil society, regional and international organizations to share policies and experiences in the global fight against child labour.

    Under the framework of the SDG Target 8.7, it was agreed that the IV Global Conference should cover both the sustained eradication of child labour and the elimination of forced labour and, in this context, it will also address the issue of the quality of youth employment.

International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)

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. Activists welcome progress towards eradication of forced labour, child labour in Uzbekistan

    03 April 2019

  2. Conflict and mass displacement increase child labour

    20 March 2019

  3. The Marshall Islands ratifies Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention

    13 March 2019

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Events

  1. World Day Against Child Labour 2019 - Children shouldn’t work in fields, but on dreams

    12 June 2019

  2. Policy dialogue gathers key stakeholders to discuss international commitments related to child labour

    13 March 2019

  3. World Day Against Child Labour 2019 - Children shouldn’t work in fields, but on dreams

    20 February - 31 December 2019

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Just released

  1. Publication

    IPEC+ Global Flagship Programme Implementation

    10 April 2019

  2. Publication

    Third party monitoring of child labour and forced labour during the 2018 cotton harvest in Uzbekistan

    01 April 2019

  3. Reduce child labour and improve working conditions in artisanal and small-scale gold mining

    Convening Actors to Develop and Implement Strategies to Reduce Child Labour and Improve Working Conditions in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (CARING GOLD MINING PROJECT): Fact sheet

    18 March 2019

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