2024 Global Estimates of Child Labour: Frequently asked questions

Accurate and reliable data are essential tools in addressing complex global challenges like child labour. The global estimates provide an up-to-date overview of the current situation, allowing for regional and global comparisons. They help monitor progress towards the elimination of child labour under Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.7 and support evidence-based policymaking, awareness raising, and prioritization of interventions.

The 2024 global estimates were produced jointly by the ILO and UNICEF, the co-custodians of SDG Target 8.7. 

The global estimates were first released in 2000 and subsequently in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. The 2024 global estimates are the seventh in the series and reflect updated data collected during the 2020-2024 period.

Child labour comprises work that children are too young to perform and/or work that, by its nature or circumstances, is likely to harm children’s health, safety or morals. Three main international human and labour rights standards – the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the ILO Minimum Age Convention (No. 138) and the universally-ratified ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182) – set legal boundaries for child labour and provide grounds for national and international actions to end it. 

In more technical terms, child labour encompasses work performed by children in any type of employment, with two important exceptions: permitted light work for children within the age range specified for light work; and work that is not classified as among the worst forms of child labour, particularly as hazardous work, for children above the general minimum working age. 

The definition of child labour can include hazardous unpaid household services, commonly referred to as hazardous household chores. Statistical standards for measuring child labour in household chores are less developed, however. The estimates of child labour published in the Report excluded household chores except where otherwise indicated. 

Children in hazardous work are those involved in any activity or occupation that, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm their health, safety or morals. 

In general, hazardous work may include night work or long hours of work, work place exposure to physical, psychological or sexual abuse; work underground, under water, at dangerous heights or in confined spaces; work with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools, or which involves the manual handling or transport of heavy loads; and work in an unhealthy environment which may, for example, expose children to hazardous substances, agents or processes, or to temperatures, noise levels, or vibrations damaging their health.

For the 2024 Global Estimates of Child Labour, hazardous work is measured on the basis of a list of hazardous industries and occupations, excessive working hours performed for 43 or more hours per week, and hazardous working conditions (such as night work).

Like those produced every four years since 2000, the 2024 estimates are based on the extrapolation of data from national household surveys. The 2024 estimates are based on data from 107 national household surveys, covering 60 per cent of the world population of children aged 5 to 17 years. These include multiple indicator cluster surveys (MICS), implemented with the assistance of UNICEF, child labour surveys implemented with the assistance of the ILO, demographic and health surveys (DHS) from USAID, labour force surveys (LFS) and other national household surveys.

Different regional groupings are used by ILO, UNICEF and for the purpose of monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals. The global estimates are disaggregated geographically in a manner to accommodate each.

Estimates for 2024 in the main body of the Report are provided for five of the seven main regional groupings used for the monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals: Sub-Saharan Africa; Northern Africa and Western Asia; Central and Southern Asia; Eastern and South-Eastern Asia; and Latin America and the Caribbean. The last two SDG regional groupings, Europe and Northern America and Oceania, were not included because of data limitations.

The statistical annex of the report also presents 2024 estimates for the regions defined in accordance with the regional classification system employed by the ILO STATISTICS department, as well as for the UNICEF regional groupings.

The regions included in the main body of the Report for the analysis of trends are limited to three: Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia and the Pacific. Other regions were not included in the analysis of trends because of the lack of historical data on child labour for them.

No. Some forms of work by children are permitted under international standards. For instance, children aged 12-14 may perform light work under regulated conditions and children aged 15-17 may perform work of non-hazardous nature. All work performed by children under age 12 and any hazardous work is considered child labour and therefore prohibited.

Globally, 138 million children – representing 7.8 percent of the child population aged 5 to 17 – are engaged in child labour. Of these, 54 million (3.1 percent of children aged 5 to 17) are involved in hazardous work. These figures mask significant differences across regions, age groups, and between boys and girls.

The 2024 global estimates reveal a welcome return to progress after the setback reported in 2020. The number of children in child labour declined by 22.4 million between 2020 and 2024, and the number of children in hazardous work fell even more steeply – by 25 million over the same period.

Child labour prevalence fell from 9.6 per cent in 2020 to 7.8 per cent in 2024, representing a nearly 20 per cent relative decrease. Hazardous work fell from 4.6 per cent to 3.1 per cent over the same period. Importantly, progress was recorded across all major demographic groups: reductions were observed among boys and girls, in all age groups, and across all world regions. This contrasts with 2020, when the youngest children – aged 5 to 11 – had experienced a worrying increase in child labour.

Sub-Saharan Africa, despite facing strong demographic and economic pressures, recorded a notable decline in prevalence, reversing an eight-year trend of increases. The Asia and Pacific region achieved the greatest relative gains, with a 43 per cent drop in the number of children in child labour and a near halving of the prevalence rate. Latin America and the Caribbean achieved an 8 percent relative reduction in prevalence and an 11 percent decline in total numbers.

Nonetheless, the current progress must be viewed in context. While encouraging, it has not been enough to reverse all past setbacks. For example, the total number of 5- to 11-year-olds in child labour remains higher than it was in 2012 and 2016, despite recent declines. And in Sub-Saharan Africa, rapid population growth has meant that the total number of children in child labour has remained constant, even though the prevalence rate fell.

These findings underscore that while recent years have brought improvements, sustained and significantly accelerated action is still required to meaningfully reduce child labour in the near term.

The estimates make clear that while the world avoided the feared further deterioration of the child labour situation after 2020, the current rate of decline is insufficient to meet Target 8.7 by the 2025 target date. Between 2020 and 2024, child labour prevalence fell by approximately 5.1 per cent per year. If that pace continues, child labour would not be eliminated until well after mid-century.

To illustrate the challenge, the report models three scenarios for reaching zero child labour. To eliminate child labour by 2030, the annual pace of reduction would need to be more than 11 times faster than it has been since 2020. Achieving elimination by 2045 would still require a sevenfold acceleration. Even extending the deadline to 2060 would require quadrupling the current pace.

The 2024 report reinforces a critical message: ending child labour will require a renewed global commitment. This includes sustained political will, stronger enforcement of legal protections, expanded access to education and social protection, and measures that address the root causes of child labour – including poverty, conflict, and lack of decent work for adults. While progress is possible – as the recent gains show – it will not happen by default.

Child labour remains a global issue, but it is highly concentrated in certain regions and contexts. 

Regionally, Sub-Saharan Africa remains most affected by child labour, with 86.6 million children involved – far more than any other region. Central and Southern Asia follows with 17 million, then Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (13.2 million), Latin America and the Caribbean (7.3 million), Northern Africa and Western Asia (6.3 million), and Europe and Northern America (2.3 million). Prevalence is also highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, where about one in five children are in child labour. Other regions show lower rates: 8.3 per cent in Northern Africa and Western Asia, 6.3 per cent in Central and Southern Asia, 5.5 per cent in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, 5.4 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 1.8 per cent in Europe and Northern America.

Child labour is especially common in fragile and conflict-affected settings. The estimates show that child labour prevalence exceeds 21 per cent in countries experiencing conflict – more than four times the rate found in stable settings. Even countries that are not in active conflict but are classified as institutionally fragile show elevated child labour rates, around 15.7 per cent.

Economic and human development levels also play a critical role. Nearly one in four children in low-income countries are engaged in child labour, compared to less than 1 per cent in high-income countries. There is hence a strong inverse correlation between national income and child labour prevalence, though causation is complex. However, due to larger populations, the majority of child labour globally is found in middle-income countries – highlighting that child labour is not just a low-income country problem. Similarly, countries with low Human Development Index (HDI) scores report a child labour prevalence of 19.6 per cent, compared to 1.6 per cent in very high-HDI countries.

Children aged 5 to 11 continue to represent the largest share of those in child labour, accounting for 57 per cent of the total in 2024 – up from 42 per cent in 2008. While recent progress among this youngest age group is encouraging, it has not fully reversed earlier setbacks, and their absolute numbers remain higher than in 2012 and 2016. Child labour also declined among older children aged 12 to 14 and 15 to 17, with both age groups seeing reductions in both absolute terms and prevalence. These trends suggest that while progress is being made across all age groups, younger children remain especially vulnerable and continue to require focused attention and tailored policy responses.

Gender plays a significant role in shaping the patterns and experiences of child labour. When measured using the standard definition – focused on economic activity – boys are more likely than girls to be in child labour. In 2024, 8.6 per cent of boys aged 5 to 17 were engaged in child labour, compared to 6.9 per cent of girls. This gap grows with age and is especially pronounced in agriculture and industry, where boys are more commonly employed.

However, this picture shifts when intensive household chores are taken into account. Girls are more likely than boys to spend long hours on unpaid household services in their own homes – caring for siblings or elderly relatives, cooking, cleaning. When these tasks are included in the broader definition of child labour (specifically where they are performed for 21 or more hours per week by children under the minimum working age), the gender gap reverses, and girls are slightly more likely to be in child labour than boys.

These patterns highlight how conventional definitions can underestimate the burden of work on girls, particularly in settings where household responsibilities are culturally assigned to them. A more complete understanding of gender in child labour requires looking beyond paid or economic work and acknowledging the invisible labour that many girls perform within the home – and often at the expense of their education, health, and personal development.

Child labour is not evenly distributed across the economy – it is heavily concentrated in agriculture, which accounts for 61 per cent of all children in child labour, or approximately 84 million children. Most are engaged in subsistence or family farming. The services sector accounts for 25 per cent of child labourers, involving activities such as street vending, domestic work for third-party households, and informal transport and repair services. The industry sector comprises the remaining 14 per cent, with children working in areas including construction, mining, manufacturing, and brick-making. Across all sectors, child labour is predominantly informal, making it harder to detect and regulate. 

All regions saw progress in reducing child labour between 2020 and 2024, although the scale and pace of progress varied. The Asia and Pacific region recorded the most significant gains, with prevalence nearly halved and absolute numbers down 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. Most notably, Sub-Saharan Africa reversed an eight-year trend of rising prevalence, achieving a 10 per cent reduction in the rate of child labour. However, due to rapid population growth, the total number of children in child labour in the region remained unchanged. These regional patterns reflect broader demographic and economic dynamics, highlighting the need for context-specific approaches to sustain and accelerate progress.

Among children aged 5 to 14 in child labour, approximately 31 per cent are not attending school. This means that nearly one in three children engaged in child labour are being denied their right to education – an essential foundation for escaping poverty and building better futures.

In contrast, among children of the same age not in child labour, only 8 per cent are out of school. This stark gap illustrates the significant educational disadvantage faced by children who are working. Even those in child labour who do attend school often struggle with attendance, concentration, and academic performance, particularly when they work long hours or are engaged in hazardous activities.

The figures confirm what evidence has long shown: child labour is both a cause and a consequence of educational exclusion. Keeping children in school is one of the most effective strategies for preventing and reducing child labour. Strengthening school access, quality, and affordability – particularly in vulnerable and marginalized communities – must therefore remain a central focus of child labour elimination efforts.

The 2024 global estimates confirm that progress is possible—but also that it remains far too slow and uneven to meet global commitments. Ending child labour will require a significant shift in the scale and ambition of policy responses.

Education and social protection remain the most powerful policy tools in this effort. Universal access to free, quality education can help ensure that no child is forced to choose between work and school. At the same time, expanding child-sensitive social protection systems is critical to reducing household vulnerability and breaking the economic drivers of child labour.

Decent work for adults is another essential pillar. When parents and caregivers have stable, fairly paid jobs, the economic pressures that push children into labour are reduced. This includes promoting formal employment, living wages, and labour rights – especially in rural and informal economies where child labour is most concentrated.

Legal and institutional frameworks must also be strengthened to protect children from exploitation. This means not only adopting robust child labour laws, but also ensuring effective enforcement, adequate labour inspection capacity, and accessible child protection services.

In a world increasingly shaped by crises – whether from conflict, displacement, or climate change – the policy response must also be adaptive and responsive to high-risk contexts. In fragile settings, humanitarian and development actors must work together to ensure education continuity, safeguard livelihoods, and protect children from being pulled into work.

Finally, progress requires sustained political will and international cooperation. Governments must prioritize investments in children – particularly in education, social protection, and child protection systems – as central pillars of national development strategies. But many of the countries facing the highest child labour burdens are also those with the least fiscal space. In these contexts, the international community has a vital catalytic role to play. Increased and better-targeted international cooperation – including concessional financing, technical assistance, and support for data systems – and can help unlock national potential and ensure that no country is left behind.