UN: 138 Million Children Worked in 2024, Eradicating Child Labor Could Take Centuries
Despite progress, 40% of working children are exposed to hazardous conditions as global efforts stall.
Watan-The United Nations announced on Wednesday that nearly 138 million children worked in fields and factories worldwide in 2024, warning that at the current slow rate of progress, eliminating child labor could take hundreds of years.
Ten years ago, when the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted, the international community set the ambitious target of eliminating child labor by 2025.
But in a joint report, UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO) wrote: “The deadline has passed, but child labor has not ended.”
Child Labor Drops to 137 Million, But 40% Still in Dangerous Conditions
Although the number is massive, it’s still a decline from 246 million in 2000, when many children were forced to work to support impoverished families.
After a worrying increase between 2016 and 2020, the trend reversed, with 20 million fewer children working in 2024 than four years earlier.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell noted “significant progress” in reducing child labor, but stressed that “far too many children still toil in mines, factories, and fields, often performing hazardous work just to survive.”
The report found that 40% of the 138 million child laborers in 2024 were involved in hazardous work that threatens their health, safety, or development.
Despite some encouraging signs, ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo warned: “We must not lose sight of the fact that we are still far from achieving our goal of ending child labor.”
61% of Cases in Agriculture
According to UNICEF expert Claudia Cappa, if child labor continues to decline at the current rate, it would take centuries to eliminate it. Even if progress since 2000 were quadrupled, she said, the goal wouldn’t be reached until 2060.
The report highlighted slow progress among younger children: in 2023, 80 million children aged 5 to 11 were working—8.2% of that age group.
Cappa emphasized that proven societal solutions include free and compulsory education, which not only keeps children out of labor but also protects them from exploitative conditions as they grow.
Sub-Saharan Africa Worst Hit as 61% of Child Labor Still in Agriculture
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61% of child labor occurs in agriculture,
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27% in domestic work and services,
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13% in industry, including mining and manufacturing.
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most affected region, with 87 million working children, while Asia and the Pacific showed the most progress, reducing the number from 49 million in 2000 to 28 million in 2024.
