The Age Divide in Child Labor

160 million children were estimated to be engaged in childhood labor in 2020, equating to roughly one in ten, according to a report published jointly by the International Labor Organization and Unicef. This figure hides significant differences across regions, however. For example, in absolute terms, there are more children in child labor in Sub-Saharan Africa than the rest of the world combined.

But the data highlights another pattern too: the age that children are most likely to be in childhood labor varies per region. Where Sub-Saharan Africa documented the highest share of young children in child labor in 2020, in Latin America and the Caribbean, prevalence was slightly higher for children in the 15-17 age category. Child labor is here defined as “work that children are too young to perform and/or work that, by its nature or circumstances, is likely to harm children’s health, safety or morals.”

According to the report, child labor among children in the 12-14 and 15-17 age groups declined between 2016 and 2020. This was not the case for those in the 5-11 year olds group. The reason for this is yet unknown. The report analysts also found that childhood labor was far more widespread in rural areas than urban.

June 12 is World Day Against Child Labor, observed by the International Labor Organization.