The World Day Against Child Labour this year will focus particularly on the importance of quality education as a key step in tackling child labour. It is very timely to do so, as in 2015 the international community will be reviewing reasons for the failure to reach development targets on education and will be setting new goals and strategies.
The global Initiative was launched in 2013 and calls on orchestras, choirs and musicians of all genres worldwide to dedicate one concert to the struggle against child labour. Sign up to the Manifesto and pledge to dedicate a concert!
Poverty pushes a high number of children in Kosovo to drop out of school and enter child labour as early as 10 years old. The ILO supports efforts of Kosovo&rsquo;s public institutions and social partners to eliminate child labour, with an emphasis on its worst forms.
Facts and figures
- Global number of children in child labour has declined by one third since 2000, from 246 million to 168 million children. More than half of them, 85 million, are in hazardous work (down from 171 million in 2000).
- Asia and the Pacific still has the largest numbers (almost 78 million or 9.3% of child population), but Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region with the highest incidence of child labour (59 million, over 21%).
- There are 13 million (8.8%) of children in child labour in Latin America and the Caribbean and in the Middle East and North Africa there are 9.2 million (8.4%).
- Agriculture remains by far the most important sector where child labourers can be found (98 million, or 59%), but the problems are not negligible in services (54 million) and industry (12 million) – mostly in the informal economy.
- Child labour among girls fell by 40% since 2000, compared to 25% for boys.
16 April 2015
Child labour in Afghanistan
Breaking the mould - Occupational safety hazards faced by children working in brick kilns in Afghanistan
13 April 2015
Global estimates and trends 2000-2012
This is the fourth issue of the ILO’s report series: Global Estimates on Child Labour. The present Report provides new global and regional estimates on child labour for the year 2012 and compares them with the previous estimates for 2000, 2004 and 2008.
- Publications and resources on child labour