One in ten children worldwide is in child labor, that is 152 million children, 64 million girls and 88 million boys. Africa ranks first among the regions in terms of both the prevalence (or 1/5) and the absolute number (72 million) of children in child labor.

According to the International Labor Organization, forced child labor is any work performed by a child under duress exerted by a third party (other than his parents) on the child himself or on his parents, or by any work carried out by a child as a direct consequence of the fact that one or both of its parents are themselves victims of forced labor.

One in ten children is in child labor worldwide, that is 152 million children, 64 million girls and 88 million boys. For the UN, efforts must be redoubled to achieve target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which calls for the immediate prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.

The number and percentage of children in child labor vary considerably from region to region. According to ILO estimates, the incidence of child labor is highest in low-income countries but is also far from negligible in other countries.

Nearly nine out of ten children in child labor are concentrated in the two regions of Africa and Asia-Pacific. Africa ranks first among the regions in terms of both the prevalence (or 1/5) and the absolute number (72 million) of children in child labor. The Asia-Pacific region is in second place at 7% in prevalence, or 62 million children in child labor in the region.

The rest of the population in child labor is distributed among the Americas (11 million), Europe and Central Asia (6 million) and the Arab States (1 million). In terms of incidence, 5% of children are in child labor in the Americas, 4% in Europe and Central Asia and 3% in the Arab States.

World Day Against Child Labor is an opportunity to promote a week of action around June 12. The two UN agencies, ILO and UNICEF will publish new global trends and estimates of child labor (2016-2020) in June 2021, under the aegis of Alliance 8.7. The report assesses the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented economic crisis that accompanies it risk slowing progress towards the elimination of child labor.

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