Report says 138 million children engaged in child labour globally

A new report jointly released on Wednesday by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) states that 138 million minors were engaged in child labor worldwide in 2024.

This concerning figure includes 54 million children whose work is likely to jeopardize their health and safety.

The report indicates that child labor occurs most frequently in agriculture, with sub-Saharan Africa bearing the brunt of the crisis, affecting an estimated 87 million children in the region.

Despite the grim reality, the figures do show a decline in child labor, with the global total falling to 138 million in the 2021-2024 period, down from 160 million in the 2016-2020 period.

However, this progress is insufficient to meet the ambitious target of eliminating child labor by 2025, a goal included in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

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The release of the report comes just ahead of the World Day Against Child Labour, which is being marked on Thursday.

Christian Schneider, the Head of UNICEF Germany, underscored the severity of the situation. “The new child labor report underlines the grim reality that millions of children are still being denied the right to learn, to play and simply be children in spite of all progress,” he stated.

Schneider emphasized that the successes achieved thus far provide a clear path forward.

He highlighted that “legal protection, better social protection, investment in free and high-quality education and work with dignity and fair pay for adults” are effective instruments for safeguarding children from child labor.