Modern day child labor

The number of child laborers globally has been going down since 2000. Number of children in child labour:

• 2000: 246 million
• 2004: 222 million
• 2008: 215 million
• 2012: 168 million
• 2016: 152 million

It is positive that the number is going down. But 10% of the world’s children are still in child labor. 152 million is the same as the entire combined populations of Denmark, Australia, Canada, and Germany.  

Behind every single number is a child denied the right to a childhood - and a normal healthy life.

Hazardous child labor

Of the total number of 152 million child laborers, around 85 million children work under hazardous conditions in sectors such as farming, construction, clothing, mining, tanning, and ship breaking. In many of these sectors, the children are exposed to toxic chemicals. Modern day child labor is a tragic story of millions of children working under dangerous conditions.

Hazardous child labor in the ship-breaking industry

The ship-breaking yards in Bangladesh are known to use of child labor under very unsafe working conditions. Around a quarter of the workers are children with almost half being under  the age of 12.

If you think a 40 hours work week is too high an estimate. Think again.

The counter is based on the assumption that the average child laborer works 40 hours a week. This is simply our best guess as the exact working hours for the children are not known. However, we don’t think the estimate is too high. To illustrate, child laborers in Bangladesh work an average of 64 hours a week. And that’s the average. There are examples of young children working over 100 hours a week.

In Bangladesh, poor children under the age of 14 work as child laborers an average of 64 hours a week.

Children as young as 6 work up to 110 hours a week.

On average the children earn less than $2 a day. Some less than $1 a day.

Children are producing our everyday products

Most child workers work on farms that produce cocoa, coffee, cotton, rubber, tea, tobacco and other crops. Studies in Brazil, Kenya, and Mexico have shown that children under 15 make up 25-30 percent of the total labor-force in those commodities.

Children in industrial production

About 20 million child workers worldwide are employed in industrial production. Girls and boys produce a range of goods including garments, carpets, toys, matches, brassware, footballs, fireworks, and hand-rolled cigarettes.

Child labor in global supply chains

Child labor is not just used for products targeted domestic markets in the countries affected. Child labor in the supply chain of international cooperations selling products on the global market is well documentet.

Is the end of child labor within reach?

The number of child workers is decreasing, but the rate by which it is happening is slowing. A strong and sustained global movement is needed to provide the extra push towards eliminating child labour.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals include ending child labour in all its forms by 2025. But the goal is slipping.

“maintaining the current rate of progress would leave 121 million children still engaged in child labour in 2025”.

- International Labor Organisation: "Ending child labour by 2025"