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A new report released on Wednesday by UNICEF and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has revealed that 138 million minors were engaged in child labour across the globe in 2024.
Of that number, 54 million children were involved in work considered hazardous, posing serious risks to their health and safety.
Child labour remains most prevalent in the agricultural sector, with sub-Saharan Africa identified as the worst-affected region, where 87 million children are engaged in such activities.
Despite the alarming figures, the report highlights a downward trend, with child labour falling to 138 million in the 2021–2024 period, compared to 160 million during 2016–2020.
However, the global target of eradicating child labour by 2025—one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals—remains out of reach.
The report was released in advance of the World Day Against Child Labour, which will be observed on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the UNICEF Germany Head, Christian Schneider, said “the new child labour report underlines the grim reality that millions of children are still being denied the right to learn, to play and simply be children in spite of all progress. The successes achieved pointed the way ahead through legal protection, better social protection, investment in free and high-quality education and work with dignity and fair pay for adults. These are effective instruments for protecting children from child labour.”
