Despite a global pledge to end child labour by 2025, at least 138 million children remain exploited for labour globally, with 54 million of them in “hazardous” work, according to a new report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The report, titled “Child Labour: Global Estimates 2024, Trends and the Road Forward,” was released on Wednesday, ahead of the International Day of Play and the World Day Against Child Labour, observed annually on 11 and 12 June, respectively.
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“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,” the report noted.
Child labour refers to exploitative and harmful activities that interfere with a child’s education, health, and general development.
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The report noted that children work in hazardous conditions in settings such as mines, factories, and farms, often under conditions that are unsafe and inappropriate for their age.
Spotlight on Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa, which comprises 49 countries including Nigeria, has the highest number of children in child labour.
According to the ILO and UN report, the region is home to 87 million, nearly two-thirds of the 138 million global total.
The region also continues to have the highest child labour prevalence at 22 per cent, followed by Northern Africa and Western Asia at a distant second with eight per cent.
While there has been some progress in reducing the rate of child labour in Sub-Saharan Africa, a 10 per cent drop since 2020, the total number of children in labour has remained unchanged over the past four years.
“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,” it noted.
“In the mounting number of countries affected by crisis and fragility, the rate of child labour is more than double the global average.”
In Nigeria, child labour remains a persistent challenge, particularly in street vending, domestic work, mining, and informal sectors.
An estimated 24.7 million children in the country are involved in child labour, with about 14.4 million engaged in hazardous work, according to the 2022 National Child Labour Survey by the National Bureau of Statistics and the ILO.
Despite legal frameworks such as the Child Rights Act (2003), which prohibits exploitative labour for children under 18, implementation and enforcement remain weak in many states.
As of 2024, several states like Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano and Zamfara states are yet to domesticate the law, limiting nationwide impact.
Children most affected
Globally, the youngest children are the most affected.
The report found that children aged five to 11 account for the majority of those in child labour, about 79 million, or 57 per cent of the total.
The remaining children are split evenly between 12 and 14, and 15 and 17.
In sub-Saharan Africa, more than two-thirds of children involved in child labour are under 12 years old.
This is different from regions like Central and Southern Asia or Latin America, where most child labourers are older, between 12 and 17 years old.
The report highlighted that gender also plays a role in the child labour landscape, noting that boys are more likely to be in child labour at every age.
Among children aged five to 17, about nine per cent of boys are in child labour compared to seven per cent of girls.
It, however, noted that tasks like caring for younger siblings, household chores like cooking and cleaning, or helping sick or elderly relatives, when performed for 21 or more hours per week, significantly increase the child labour prevalence among girls.
In her comments, as quoted by the ILO on its website, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell noted that while the world has made real progress in reducing child labour, millions of children still work in mines, factories, and fields, often in dangerous conditions, just to survive.
Ms Russell said ending child labour is possible through strong legal protections, wider access to social support, investment in free and quality education, and decent jobs for adults.
“Global funding cuts threaten to roll back hard-earned gains. We must recommit to ensuring that children are in classrooms and playgrounds, not at work,” she noted.
Report calls for action
The report acknowledges that efforts to tackle child labour are yielding results. However, it warns that progress remains too slow and is not reaching enough children.
With nearly 138 million children still exploited globally, the report describes this figure as “simply unacceptable.”
It also warns that the modest gains achieved in recent years remain fragile in the face of global challenges such as climate change, armed conflict, state fragility, and economic instability.
To make meaningful progress and transform global pledges into lasting change, the report calls for an urgent and “dramatic scaling up of action.”
It notes that the basic policy priorities required to eliminate child labour are already well known and supported by years of research and field evidence.
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It emphasised the need to guarantee free and high-quality education for all children up to the legal school-leaving age, which offers a viable alternative to child labour and helps build a strong foundation for decent work in adulthood.
It is suggested that strengthening legal protections, including universal birth registration and laws aligned with international standards, is also critical to preventing child labour and enforcing accountability.
The report also emphasised the importance of equipping education systems to support young people, particularly older adolescents, as they transition from school into the workforce, where they are often exposed to dangerous or exploitative conditions.
It also highlighted the need to expand social protection measures that address the underlying poverty and vulnerability, pushing families to rely on child labour.
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