International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)

2021 declared International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour

The UN General Assembly has urged the international community to step up efforts to eradicate forced labour and child labour, and declared 2021 as the Year for the Elimination of Child Labour.
World Day Against Child Labour - 12 June 2019

Children shouldn’t work in fields, but on dreams!

This year, the World Day Against Child Labour will look back on progress achieved over a 100 years of ILO support to countries on tackling child labour.
© F. Vindas, G. Bolanos

Child labour in domestic work

Learn more about what is child domestic work and what does constitute child labour in domestic work?
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.
© Lisa Kristine

Alliance 8.7: For a world without forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour

Building on the new momentum created by the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Alliance 8.7 brings together all interested parties to join forces in achieving Target 8.7 aiming at a world without forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and 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.

Quick links

2016 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
- Executive Summary
- FAQs
- Regional Briefs: Africa, Americas, Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia
- Methodology
- Press Release