138 million children in the world are victims of child labor, ILO report

It is estimated that around 138 million children will be in child labor worldwide in 2024, according to a new report by the International Labor Organization (ILO). Of these, 54 million are engaged in hazardous work, i.e., working in industries or occupations designated as hazardous, and/or working for 43 hours or more per week.

A global consensus can be found in the International Labor Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998), the ILO core conventions and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: the elimination of child labor is a fundamental right. No child should perform work that harms his or her health, development or future prospects.

Working towards this purpose is a legal and ethical imperative of contemporary societies, precisely in that sense, target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was established, which states that “take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking and ensure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025, end child labor in all its forms”.

Although this goal should be met by 2025, it is far from being achieved. Below, we present the most revealing data from the latest ILO report on child labor, and the recommendations issued by the same agency to continue working towards the elimination of this global scourge.

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The most relevant data on child labor

Although a reduction of 22 million child and adolescent victims of child labor was recorded from 2020 to 2024, the figure is still alarming. The data show that in the 5 to 14 age range most child labor is concentrated in agriculture, while from 15 to 17 year olds tend to be employed in the industrial and service sectors.

The particular situation of girls is worrisome, especially because of the way in which they suffer from this phenomenon is made invisible. The data tend to overrepresent boys and their labor involvement, and this is due to the fact that in most cases domestic chores are not taken into account as child labor when the data are collected. When this requirement is met, the proportion of girls in child labor is slightly higher than that of boys in the 5-14 age range.

One of the most serious repercussions of child labor is the impact on the schooling of children and adolescents. According to the ILO report: “Worldwide, almost one third of school-age children who work are absent from school. This contrasts with only 8% of children of the same age who do not work”. The situation of children engaged in hazardous work is even more serious, as half of them do not attend school.

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ILO recommendations to reduce child labor globally

Although the global child labor reduction data is a positive result, the actions currently being taken to eradicate child labor are not sufficient. The current pace would have to be accelerated 11 times to eliminate child labor by 2030, 7 times to achieve it by 2045 and 4 times by 2060.

In this regard, ILO recommendations to achieve the objective include:

• Guarantee free, quality education with the purpose of contributing to a successful transition from school to decent work.
• Strengthen legal protection against child labor, in line with international standards, to ensure that effective prevention and enforcement mechanisms are in place.
• Universalize social protection to counteract the socioeconomic vulnerability that underlies child labor.
• Expand access to basic services to reduce the need for children to perform arduous chores and thus free up their time for school, play and rest.
• Combating child labor in business activities and supply chains, with special attention to micro and small informal enterprises.
• Prioritize initiatives to address child labor, particularly hazardous work among the youngest children. The physical and emotional consequences of doing this type of work could last a lifetime.

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