Child Labour: Global estimates 2024, trends and the road forward

Freedom from child labour is a fundamental human right. It is enshrined in the International Labour Office (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998), the ILO fundamental Conventions and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Together, these legal instruments embody a global consensus: No child should be engaged in work that harms his or her health, development or future prospects. Realizing this fundamental right is both a legal imperative and a foundation for more just, inclusive societies, beginning with their youngest, most vulnerable members.

In 2015, the world made a promise to end child labour by 2025 in Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). That timeline has now come to an end. But child labour has not. Today, nearly 138 million children remain in child labour worldwide.

While the elimination of child labour remains an unfinished task, there is some welcome news. After a concerning rise in child labour captured by the global estimates for 2020, a feared further deterioration in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has not materialized, and the world has succeeded in returning to a path of progress. There are over 100 million fewer children in child labour today than in 2000, even as the child population increased by 230 million over the same period.

Yet, a closer look at the current situation and trends over time points to a number of particular concerns. Hazardous work continues to constitute a substantial share of child labour, even among children below the legal working age. The last four years saw an encouraging drop in child labour among the youngest children. But this has not undone past setbacks, and the overall number and share of those aged 5 to 11 years in child labour remains virtually the same as in 2012. Sub-Saharan Africa has made laudable strides in reducing the prevalence of child labour, but given its rapidly growing child population, the number of children in child labour has not decreased. In the mounting number of countries affected by crisis and fragility, its rate of child labour is more than double the global average. 

This publication provides an overview of these child labour patterns and trends. It also describes the evolving profile of children in child labour, outlines the nature of child labour and where it is concentrated and explores the impact of child labour on schooling. The report concludes with a discussion of the road ahead.