WORLD - Nearly 138 million children around the world are engaged in child labour, including 54 million performing hazardous work that threatens their health, safety and development, according to the latest estimates released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF on World Day Against Child Labour.
The figures mean that roughly one in every 17 children under the age of 18 is involved in child labour globally, despite international efforts to eliminate the practice.
The United Nations had set a target of ending child labour by 2025 as part of its Sustainable Development Goals. While the overall number of children in child labour has declined in recent years, millions remain trapped in work that exposes them to dangerous conditions and limits access to education.
Of the 54 million children involved in hazardous work, 10.3 million are between the ages of five and 11, 12.8 million are aged 12 to 14, and 30.8 million are between 15 and 17 years old.
Hazardous child labour includes work that involves heavy physical tasks, exposure to toxic chemicals, dangerous machinery, long working hours or unsafe environments. UNICEF and the ILO warn that such conditions can cause injuries, illness and long-term physical and psychological harm.
Agriculture remains the largest source of child labour worldwide, accounting for 61 percent of all cases. Approximately 84 million children work in farming, fishing, forestry and livestock production.
Many children in the agricultural sector perform physically demanding tasks such as carrying heavy loads, spraying pesticides, operating machinery and working long hours in extreme temperatures. In many rural communities, work begins before sunrise and often interferes with schooling.
The services sector accounts for 27 percent of child labour cases, with children working in domestic service, retail and hospitality. Another 13 percent are employed in industrial activities, including manufacturing, construction and mining.
Experts say agriculture remains particularly difficult to regulate because much of the work takes place in informal, family-based settings.
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to bear the largest burden, with 87 million children engaged in child labour—more than all other regions combined. Population growth, economic instability and conflict have slowed progress in reducing child labour across the region.
Lucia Soleti, acting UNICEF deputy representative of programmes in Ghana, said more than 1.1 million children between the ages of five and 17 are involved in child labour in the country, primarily in agriculture but also in mining, fishing and domestic work.
“It deprives children of education, exposes them to hazardous conditions and perpetuates intergenerational poverty,” Soleti said.
While Asia and the Pacific have recorded some of the steepest declines in child labour rates, the practice remains embedded in global supply chains that produce food, clothing, minerals and consumer goods consumed worldwide.
Mona Aika, acting chief of child protection at UNICEF in Nigeria, said addressing child labour requires more than enforcement measures alone.
She pointed to a combination of factors driving child labour, including poverty, limited access to quality education, weak social protection systems, conflict, displacement, climate-related shocks and the widespread reliance on informal labour.
Aika said lasting progress will depend on stronger child protection mechanisms, improved access to education, support for vulnerable families and sustained government action aimed at addressing the root causes of child labour.
