2024 Global Estimates of Child Labour in figures

Global levels and trends

Nearly 138 million children – 59 million girls and 78 million boys  – are in child labour worldwide, accounting for almost 8 per cent of all children globally; 54 million of whom are in hazardous work likely to harm their health, safety or morals.

A return to global progress in ending child labour is evident. The overall number of children in child labour declined by more than 22 million, and the number in hazardous work by even more – 25 million – from 2020 to 2024. This progress is very welcome news, especially in light of the rise in the number of children in child labour in the prior four-year period, from 2016 to 2020.

The fall in child labour over the last four years brings the total reduction in the number of children in child labour to over 100 million since 2000. The decrease occurred amid an overall increase in the global population of children aged 5 to 17 years during the same period.

Hazardous work

Among all children in child labour, two in five (54 million) perform hazardous work. Of these 54 million children, around two in five are under age 15, and nearly one in five is younger than age 12. 

Regional levels and trends

The recent progress against child labour was broad-based. All regions benefited. Progress was greatest in Asia and the Pacific, which halved child labour prevalence. The number of children in child labour fell by 43 per cent. Latin America and the Caribbean achieved an 8 per cent relative reduction in prevalence and an 11 per cent decline in total numbers. After eight years in which child labour prevalence trended slightly upwards, Sub-Saharan Africa reversed course, with prevalence falling by 10 per cent since 2020, reaching the rate recorded in 2012. Given population growth in the region, however, the total number of children in child labour has remained unchanged over the last four years.

Large regional variations persist in the numbers and shares of children in child labour. Sub-Saharan Africa has by far the largest number of children in child labour – 87 million, or close to two thirds of the global total. More children are in child labour in sub Saharan Africa than in the rest of the world combined.

Sectors of economic activity

Agriculture accounts for the largest share of children in child labour, at 61 per cent globally. Most of this labour takes place as part of family subsistence and on smallholder farms. Services, including domestic work in third-party households, small-scale commerce and other informal activities, comprise 27 per cent of all child labour. Industry, encompassing construction, manufacturing and mining, makes up the remaining 13 per cent.

The intersection of age and sex shapes the composition of child labour. Younger children in child labour, both boys and girls, are overwhelmingly found in agriculture. As children grow older, child labour diverges along gender lines. Boys are increasingly found in industry, while girls are more likely to be in services. This differentiation becomes even more pronounced in adolescence, reflecting labour market structures and prevailing social norms. 

Children in child labour by sex

Boys are overrepresented in child labour at every age. Among 5- to 17-year-olds, 9 per cent of boys are in child labour, compared to 7 per cent of girls. This gap only widens with age. While child labour has declined for both sexes since 2000, the downward trajectory has been steadier and more consistent for girls. The previous period, from 2016 to 2020, saw a slight uptick in child labour prevalence among boys, a trend that has now subsided. The relative involvement of girls and boys in child labour comes with an important caveat. The child labour definition underlying it does not consider involvement in household chores in children’s own homes.