- 246 million children work as child labourers.
- 73 million working children are less than 10 years old.
- Every year 22,000 children die in work related activities.
- The largest number of working children – age 14 and under – are in the Asia Pacific region.
- Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest proportion of working children: nearly one third of children age 14 and under (48 million children)
- Most children work in the informal sector, without legal or regulatory protection.
- 60% in agriculture, commercial hunting and fishing or forestry.
- 8% in manufacturing
- 7% in wholesale
- 25% in community, social and personal service such as domestic work.
- 8.4 million children are trapped in slavery, trafficking, debt bondage, prostitution, pornography and other illicit activities. 1.2 million of these children have been trafficked.
- The estimated cost of the elimination of child labour is US$760 billion over a 20-year period. The estimated benefit in terms of better education and health is over US$4 trillion. The benefits would therefore outweigh the costs by nearly 6 to 1.
Prevalence of Child Labour in The World
