UN report: 138 million children working around the world in 2024 despite the progress made
Geneva, June 11/ WAM/ The International Labor Organization and UNICEF announced, in a joint report issued today in Geneva, that child labor, despite the progress made, still affects 138 million children around the world in 2024, including about 54 million working in dangerous conditions that threaten their health, safety and growth.
The report indicated that although the number of working children decreased by about 50% since 2000 (from 246 to 138 million children), the world is still far from achieving the goal of eliminating child labor by 2025, as it requires speeding up the pace of progress at a rate of 11 times.
According to the data, the number of children working since 2020 decreased by 22 million, after a disturbing rise between 2016 and 2020.
The report pointed out that agriculture represents the largest sector for child labor (61%), followed by services (27%), then industry (13%).
The Asia Pacific region recorded the largest decrease in the rate of child labor, from 5.6%to 3.1%, while Latin America and the Caribbean sea witnessed a decrease of 8%.
As for sub -Saharan Africa, it remains the most affected region, with about 87 million working children, or about two -thirds of the world number.
The Director General of the International Labor Organization, Gilbert Hongoo, stressed the importance of enabling families to obtain a decent work to avoid pushing their children to work, while Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, stressed the need to enhance legal guarantees, expand social protection, and invest in free and good education.
The report entitled “Child labor” and issued one day before the International Day to combat children’s work warned that reducing the financing allocated to education and social protection may lead to a decline in the gains achieved, calling for a renewed global commitment to ensure that children remain in schools and stadiums instead of work sites.
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