The challenge

158 MILLION CHILDREN ARE ENGAGED IN LABOUR
Number of children aged 5–14 engaged in labour, by region (2006)

Millions of children work to help their families in ways that are neither harmful nor exploitative. But one in seven children ages 5–14 years old, about 158 million children globally, is involved in child labour. These children are put to work in ways that drain childhood of joy and crush the right to normal physical and mental development, and often interfere with children’s education.

Around 1 in 3 children aged 5–14 in Sub-Saharan Africa labours, compared to only 1 in 20 in the Central and Eastern European/Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) region. Children living in the poorest households and in rural areas are most likely to be involved in child labour. Those burdened with household chores are overwhelmingly girls.

Ensuring that all children go to school and that their education is of good quality are keys to preventing child labour.

BOYS ARE MORE LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY - Girls are more likely to toil at home
Percentage of children aged 5–14 engaged in child labour, by gender (1999–2006)


POOR AND RURAL CHILDREN ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE ENGAGED IN CHILD LABOUR - Girls are as likely to labour as boys
Percentage of children aged 5–14 engaged in child labour, by background characteristics (1999–2006)



CHILD LABOUR OCCURS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD BUT IS MOST PREVALENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Percentage of children aged 5–14 engaged in labour (1999–2006)

Source for figures: UNICEF global databases, 2007, based on MICS and DHS, for 98 countries (1999–2006). Analysis of economic and household child labour is based on a subset of 30 countries (economic) and 65 countries (household) with available data.

Data collection

UNICEF collects data on working children with its Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), a series of nationally representative household surveys. MICS questionnaires ask what kind of work a child does and for how many hours, collecting data on both economic activities (paid or unpaid work for someone who is not a member of the household, work for a family farm or business) and domestic work (household chores like cooking, cleaning, or caring for children).

A further source of child labour data are the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), carried out with support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Some recent DHS surveys have adopted the MICS child labour questionnaire and provide the same data on work by children.

In the analysis on these pages, child labour is defined as work that exceeds a minimum number of hours, depending on the age of a child and on the type of work. Such work is considered harmful to the child and should therefore be eliminated. The latest national estimates for this indicator are reported in Table 9 (Child Protection) of UNICEF's annual publication The State of the World's Children.

References

Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS): UNICEF, various years.

Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS): Macro International, various years.