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.

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. Universal ratification of Convention No. 182

    Universal ratification of ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour

    03 July 2020

  2. COVID-19 and child labour

    Indonesia strengthen its efforts to combat child labour as an impact of the pandemic

    16 June 2020

  3. COVID-19 and child labour

    The fight of child labour in Timor-Leste starts from the families

    15 June 2020

  4. COVID-19 and advocates

    Serj Tankian: COVID-19 can increase instances of child labour

    15 June 2020

  5. World Day Against Child Labour

    Joint message from the ILO and UNICEF to mark the World Day Against Child Labour

    12 June 2020

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Publications

  1. COVID-19

    COVID-19 impact on child labour and forced labour: The response of the IPEC+ Flagship Programme

    20 May 2020

  2. Technical Report

    Measuring child labour, forced labour and human trafficking in global supply chains: A global Input-Output approach

    12 November 2019

  3. Report

    Ending child labour, forced labour and human trafficking in global supply chains

    12 November 2019

  4. Publication

    IPEC+ Global Flagship Programme Implementation

    10 April 2019

  5. Second edition (2018)

    Ending child labour by 2025: A review of policies and programmes

    10 December 2018

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Events

  1. COVID-19: Protect children from child labour, now more than ever!

    25 June 2020

  2. COVID-19 and Child Labour: Looking forward in times of crisis

    12 June 2020

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