CHILDLABOUR

GLOBALESTIMATES2020,TRENDSANDTHEROADFORWARD

?UNICEF/UNI123128/Khan

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Acknowledgements

ThisreporthasbeenjointlypreparedbytheILOandUNICEF.MembersofthecoreteamincludedFedericoBlanco(ILO),ClaudiaCappa(UNICEF),

Micha?lleDeCock(ILO),LorenzoGuarcello(ILO)andScottLyon(ILO).Thestatisticalwork,includingthedevelopmentofthemethodologyand

estimates,wasconductedbyRogerGomis(ILO)andChinmaySharma(independentconsultant)underthesupervisionofStevenKapsos(ILO).

DatapreparationandanalysiswerecarriedoutbyDavidBescond(ILO),FedericoBlanco(ILO),EvangeliaBourmpoula(independentconsultant),

ClaudiaCappa(UNICEF),WilliamCole(independentconsultant),LorenzoGuarcello(ILO),MunkhbadarJugder(UNICEF),DonikaLimani(independentconsultant),YvesPerardel(ILO),NicolePetrowski(UNICEF)andMabelinVillarreal-Fuentes(ILO).

ManyILOandUNICEFcolleaguesprovidedvaluableinputsandcomments,inparticularChristinaBehrendt(ILO),AssefaBequele(ILO,retired),

FlorenceBonnet(ILO),JoanneBosworth(UNICEF),CarolineChaigne-Hope(ILO),SumairaA.Chowdhury(UNICEF),Francescod’Ovidio(ILO),MonicaDarer(UNICEF),KirstenDiMartino(UNICEF),JohnDombkins(ILO),RuthGrahamGoulder(UNICEF),ValeriaGruppo(UNICEF),MelanieJeanroy(ILO),JosiahKaplan(UNICEF),MuhammadRafiqKhan(UNICEF),AniruddhaKulkarni(UNICEF),HenrikMoller(ILO),IanOrton(ILO),BrigidKennedyPfister(UNICEF),VictorHugoRicco(ILO),DominicRichardson(UNICEF),EshaniRuwanpura(UNICEF),BenSmith(ILO),RamyaSubrahmanian(UNICEF),

PhilippeVanhuynegem(ILO),WonganiGraceTaulo(UNICEF),CorneliusWilliams(UNICEF),ThomasWissing(ILO)andAlexandraYuster(UNICEF).GratitudegoestocolleaguesfromILOandUNICEFcountryofficesforsharingrelevantmaterial.

FundingtothisreportispartlyprovidedtotheILObytheUnitedStatesDepartmentofLaborundercooperativeagreementnumber

IL‐30147‐16‐75‐K‐11(MAP16project)(GLO/18/29/USA);andbytheGovernmentofFranceundertheframeworkoftheEntr’Allianceproject(GLO/20/60/FRA).

OnehundredpercentofthetotalcostsoftheMAP16projectisfinancedwithfederalfunds,foratotalof22,4milliondollars.

ThismaterialdoesnotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsorpoliciesoftheUnitedStatesDepartmentofLaborortheGovernmentofFrance,nordoes

mentionoftradenames,commercialproducts,ororganizationsimplyendorsementbytheUnitedStatesGovernmentortheGovernmentofFrance.

TheproductionofthereportwascoordinatedbyClaudiaCappa(UNICEF).ThereportwaseditedbyGretchenLuchsinger,LoisJensenandTinaJohnson(WordsfortheWorld),fact-checkedbyIsabelJijonanddesignedbyEraPorth(independentconsultants).

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?UNICEF/UNI138971/Haque

4

?UNICEF/UN0282725/LeMoyne

5

CONTENTS

Executivesummary6

Introduction14

Currentlevelsandtrends20

Globalandregionaloverview21

Profileofchildreninchildlabour28

Characteristicsofchildlabour37

Childlabourandeducation47

Childlabour,nationalincomeandstatefragility50

TheimpactofCOVID-1954

Theroadforward60

Annex72

Statisticaltables74

Overviewofthemethodology79

Endnotes83

Executivesummary

?UNICEF/UN064360/Feyizoglu

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7

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ChildLabour:Globalestimates2020,trendsandtheroadforwardtakesstockofwherewestandintheglobalefforttoendchildlabour.PublishedintheUnitedNationsInternationalYearfortheEliminationofChildLabourbytheInternationalLabourOrganization(ILO)andtheUnitedNationsChildren’sFund(UNICEF),co-custodiansoftarget8.7oftheSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs),thereportdescribesthescaleandkeycharacteristicsofchildlabourtoday,andchangesovertime.

InlinewithchildlabourestimatesproducedbytheILOeveryfouryearssince2000,the2020calculationsarebasedontheextrapolationofdatafromnationalhouseholdsurveys.Thenewestimatesusemorethan100householdsurveyscoveringtwothirdsoftheworld’spopulationofchildrenaged5to17years.

Whatthereporttellsusisalarming.Globalprogressagainstchildlabourhasstalledforthefirsttimesincewebeganproducingglobalestimatestwodecadesago.Inaddition,withouturgentmitigationmeasures,theCOVID-19crisisislikelytopushmillionsmorechildrenintochildlabour.

Theseresultsconstituteanimportantrealitycheckinmeetingtheinternationalcommitmenttoendchildlabourby2025.Ifwedonotmusterthewillandresourcestoactnowonanunprecedentedscale,thetimelineforendingchildlabourwillstretchmanyyearsintothefuture.

GLOBALESTIMATESANDTRENDS

Childlabourremainsapersistentproblemintheworldtoday.Thelatestglobalestimatesindicatethat160millionchildren–63milliongirlsand97millionboys–wereinchildlabourgloballyatthebeginningof2020,accountingforalmost1in10ofallchildrenworldwide.Seventy-ninemillionchildren–nearlyhalfofallthoseinchildlabour–wereinhazardousworkthatdirectlyendangerstheirhealth,safetyandmoraldevelopment.

Globalprogressagainstchildlabourhasstagnatedsince2016.Thepercentageofchildreninchildlabourremainedunchangedoverthefour-yearperiodwhiletheabsolutenumberofchildreninchildlabourincreasedbyover8million.Similarly,thepercentageofchildreninhazardousworkwasalmostunchangedbutroseinabsolutetermsby6.5millionchildren.

TheglobalpicturemaskscontinuedprogressagainstchildlabourinAsiaandthePacific,andLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean.Inbothregions,childlabourtrendeddownwardoverthelastfouryearsinpercentageandabsoluteterms.Similarprogressinsub-SaharanAfricahasprovenelusive.Thisregionhasseenanincreaseinboththenumberandpercentageofchildreninchildlaboursince2012.Therearenowmorechildreninchildlabourinsub-SaharanAfricathanintherestoftheworldcombined.Globalchildlabourgoalswillnotbeachievedwithoutabreakthroughinthisregion.

Continuedprogresswasregisteredoverthelastfouryearsamongchildrenaged12to14and15to17.Childlabourinbothagegroupsdeclinedinpercentageandabsoluteterms,continuingaconsistentdownwardtrendseeninpreviousestimates.Childlabourroseamongyoungchildrenaged5to11,however,afterthe2016globalestimatessignalledslowingprogressforthisagegroup.Therewere16.8millionmorechildrenaged5to11inchildlabourin2020thanin2016.

TheCOVID-19crisisthreatenstofurthererodeglobalprogressagainstchildlabourunlessurgentmitigationmeasuresaretaken.Newanalysissuggestsafurther8.9millionchildrenwillbeinchildlabourbytheendof2022asaresultofrisingpovertydrivenbythepandemic.

Yetthepredictedadditionalriseinchildlabourisbynomeansaforegoneconclusion.Theactualimpactwilldependonpolicyresponses.Twoadditionalscenariosdemonstratethehugeinfluenceofsocialprotectioncoverageonchildlabourinthenearterm.Wheresocialprotectioncoverageisallowedtoslip,asignificantfurtherincreaseinchildlabour

9

couldoccurbytheendof2022.Ariseinsocialprotectioncoverage,ontheotherhand,couldmorethanoffsettheimpactofCOVID-19onchildlabour,returningustoprogressontheissue.

Otherkeyresultsfromthe2020globalestimatesinclude:

?Involvementinchildlabourishigherforboysthangirlsatallages.Amongallboys,11.2percentareinchildlabourcomparedto7.8percentofallgirls.Inabsolutenumbers,boysinchildlabouroutnumbergirlsby34million.Whenthedefinitionofchildlabourexpandstoincludehouseholdchoresfor21hoursormoreeachweek,thegendergapinprevalenceamongboysandgirlsaged5to14isreducedbyalmosthalf.

?Childlabourismuchmorecommoninruralareas.Thereare122.7millionruralchildreninchildlabourcomparedto37.3millionurbanchildren.Theprevalenceofchildlabourinruralareas(13.9percent)isclosetothreetimeshigherthaninurbanareas(4.7percent).

?Mostchildlabour–forboysandgirlsalike–continuestooccurinagriculture.Seventypercentofallchildreninchildlabour,112millionchildrenintotal,areinagriculture.Manyareyoungerchildren,underscoringagricultureasanentrypointtochildlabour.Overthreequartersofallchildrenaged5to11inchildlabourworkinagriculture.

?Thelargestshareofchildlabourtakesplacewithinfamilies.Seventy-twopercentofallchildlabourand83percentofchildlabouramongchildrenaged5to11occurswithinfamilies,primarilyonfamilyfarmsorinfamilymicroenterprises.Family-basedchildlabourisfrequentlyhazardousdespitecommonperceptionsofthefamilyasofferingasaferworkenvironment.Morethanoneinfourchildrenaged5to11andnearlyhalfofchildrenaged

12to14infamily-basedchildlabourareinworklikelytoharmtheirhealth,safetyormorals.

?Childlabourisfrequentlyassociatedwithchildrenbeingoutofschool.Alargeshareofyoungerchildreninchildlabourareexcludedfromschooldespitefallingwithintheagerangeforcompulsoryeducation.Morethanaquarterofchildrenaged5to11andoverathirdofchildrenaged12to14whoareinchildlabourareoutofschool.Thisseverelyconstrainstheirprospectsfordecentworkinyouthandadulthoodaswellastheirlifepotentialoverall.Manymorechildreninchildlabourstruggletobalancethedemandsofschoolandchildlabouratthesametime,whichcompromisestheireducationandtheirrighttoleisure.

THEROADFORWARD

The2020ILO-UNICEFglobalestimatesindicateacriticaljunctureintheworldwideeffortagainstchildlabour.Globalprogresshasgroundtoahaltoverthelastfouryearsafterhavingalreadyslowedconsiderablyinthefouryearsbeforethat.TheongoingCOVID-19crisisthreatenstofurthererodepastgains.Whiletherearenearly86millionfewerchildreninchildlabournowthanwhenwebeganmeasuringgloballevelsin2000,recenttrendssuggestwearefallingfarbehindonthecollectivecommitmenttoendchildlabourinallitsformsby2025.InthisUnitedNationsInternationalYearfortheEliminationofChildLabour,wemustactwithrenewedurgencytoputprogressbackontrack.

ImmediatestepsareneededtoavoidfallingfurtherbehindduringtheongoingCOVID-19crisis.Thepandemichasclearlyheightenedtheriskofchildlabour,aboveallthroughasharpriseinpovertythatmayincreasefamilies’relianceonchildlabour,andthroughschoolclosuresthatdenyfamiliesthelogicalalternativetosendingchildrentowork.Toreducetheserisks,expandedincomesupportmeasuresforfamiliesinsituationsofvulnerability,throughchildbenefitsandothermeans,willbecritical.Sotoowillback-to-schoolcampaignsandstepped-upremediallearningtogetchildren

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backintheclassroomandhelpthemmakeupforlostlearningoncethere,whenconditionspermit.

Duringtheacuteandrecoveryphasesofthecrisis,itwillbeimportantnottolosesightofbroaderpolicyimperativesforendingchildlabour.Thesehavelongbeenclear:

?Extendingsocialprotectionforchildrenandtheirfamiliestomitigatethepovertyandeconomicuncertaintythatunderpinchildlabour.

?Ensuringfreeandgood-qualityschoolingatleastuptotheminimumageforenteringemploymenttoprovideaviablealternativetochildlabourandaffordchildrenachanceatabetterfuture.

?Guaranteeingthateverychild’sbirthisregisteredsothatchildrenhavealegalidentityandcanenjoytheirrightsfrombirth.

?Promotingdecentworkthatdeliversafairincomeforyoungpeople(oflegalworkingage)andadults,withaparticularemphasisonworkersintheinformaleconomy,inorderforfamiliestoescapepoverty-drivenchildlabour.

?Promotingadequaterurallivelihoodsandresilience,includingthroughsupportingeconomicdiversification,investinginbasicservicesinfrastructure,extendingsocialprotectionanddevisingagriculturalextensionpoliciesforcropdiversification.Familyfarmsandenterprisesthatdependonthe(mostlyunpaid)labouroftheirchildrenneedgreatersupporttoimprovetheirlivelihoodsandendthatdependence.

?Ensuringthatnecessarylawsandregulationsareinplacetoprotectchildren,backedbyenforcementmachineryandchildprotectionsystems,andtheservicesrequiredtoapplythem.

?Addressinggendernormsanddiscriminationthatincreasechildlabourrisks,particularlyforgirls,relatedtodomesticworkandunpaidhouseholdchores.

Specialattentionshouldaddresstheheightenedriskofchildlabouringrowingcrises,conflictsanddisasters.Childlabourconcernsshouldfactorinallphasesofhumanitarianaction–fromcrisispreparednessandcontingencyplanstohumanitarianresponsestopost-crisisreconstructionandrecoveryefforts.

Addressingchildlabourrisksindomesticandglobalsupplychainscontinuestobeimportant.

Especiallyrelevantaretheinformalmicro-andsmallenterprisesoperatingatthelowertiersofsupplychains,wherechildlabourandotherhumanrightsrisksareoftenmostpronounced.Governmentscanleadthroughpublicprocurementthatdiscourageschildlabourrisksinvendorsupplychains.

TheCOVID-19crisishasmadeactionsacrossallthesepolicyareasandcontextsevenmoreurgentatatimewhengovernmentsaregrapplingwithrestrictedfiscalspace.Soundpolicychoicesandresourceallocationdecisionswillbecritical.Strengtheningthecountry-levelevidencebaseonchildlabourcanhelptoidentifylocalprioritiesandguidepolicyandspendingdecisions.Socialdialogueamonggovernments,employers’organizationsandworkers’organizationsisalsokeytodevelopingappropriateandresponsivepoliciesforaddressingchildlabourandrelatedchallenges,wherevertheyoccur.

Governmentswillneedtoadoptcreativeresourcemobilizationstrategiestoexpandtheirfiscalspace.Givenbudgetshortfallsgeneratedbythepandemic,theinternationalcommunitywillneedtofillthefinancinggap.Manyindustrializedcountriesstillfallshortoflong-standingcommitmentstoofficialdevelopmentassistance(ODA)andfinancingforsustainabledevelopment.Thisneedstochange.

Debtreliefshouldbeextendedanddebtre-structuredinalreadyheavilyindebtedcountriessothatsocialspendingisnotcrowdedoutbyincreasingdebtservicepayments.Wemustavoidthemistakesofthepastthatsawurgently

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neededcreditflowsmadecontingentonausteritymeasuresthatinflictedthemostharmonchildrenandfamiliesingreatestneed.

TheCOVID-19crisishasservedasanimportantreminderoftheneedforinternationalcooperationandpartnershipinovercomingglobalchallenges.Thisisastrueforendingchildlabourasforothercriticaldevelopmentprioritiesinthe2030AgendaforSustainableDevelopment.Eliminatingchildlabourisatasktoobigforanyonepartytosolvealone.Countriesmustworktogetherwithinthespiritofarticle8oftheuniversallyratifiedILOWorstFormsofChildLabourConvention(No.182).

Alliance8.7playsanimportantroleinfacili-tatingcooperationonchildlabouramonggovernmentalandnon-governmentalactors.

Aglobalpartnershiplaunchedin2016,Alliance8.7

groupsgovernments,multilateralorganizations,workers’organizations,employers’organizations,non-governmentalorganizations,academicinstitutionsandthinktankstofindwaysofacceleratingactionontarget8.7.Thealliancefocusesonthreestrategies:conductingresearchandsharingknowledge,drivinginnovation,andincreasingandleveragingresources.

Itisurgenttoputactiontoendchildlabourbackontrack,inlinewithglobalcommitmentsandgoals.Theevidenceinthisreportoutlinestherisksandpointstothesolutions.Whileambitiousmeasuresandinvestmentsarerequired,theCOVID-19pandemichasamplyillustratedthatthesearepossiblewhenthewell-beingofhumanityisatstake.Wehavemadeapromisetochildrentoendchildlabour.Thereisnotimetolose.

Childlabourataglance

TrendsCurrentsituation

Globalprogressagainstchildlabourhasstalledsince2016

Percentageandnumberofchildrenaged5to17yearsinchildlabourandhazardouswork

Childlabour

245.5million

.■Hazardouswork

215.2million

222.3million

16.0%

168.0million

14.2%

151.6million

13.6%

160.0million

128.4million

8.2%

11.1%

170.5million

10.6%

115.3million

7.3%

9.6%

79.0million

9.6%

72.5million

85.3million

5.4%

4.7%

4.6%

200020042008201220162020

AsiaandthePacificandLatinAmericaandtheCaribbeanhaveseensteadyprogressonchildlaboursince2008;

similarprogresshaseludedsub-SaharanAfrica

Percentageofchildrenaged5to17yearsinchildlabour,byregion

25.3%

21.4%

●

23

22.4%

●

.9%

●

13.3%

9.3%

10.0%

●

7.4%

6.0%

8.8%

7.3%

5.6%

2008201220162020

Sub-SaharanAfricaAsiaandthePacificLatinAmerica

andtheCaribbean

Notes:ThefigureshowsregionalgroupingsusedforILOreporting.Comparablehistoricaldatapriorto2016werenotavailableforotherregions.

Worldwide,160millionchildrenareengagedinchildlabour;79millionofthemareperforminghazardouswork

Numberofchildrenaged5to17yearsinchildlabourandhazardouswork

Childreninchildlabour,

160.0million

Childrenin

hazardouswork,

79.0million

Childlabourismoreprevalentamongboysthangirlsateveryage

Percentageofchildrenaged5to17yearsinchildlabour,byageandsex

5–11years

Boys

Girls

Total

10.9%

8.4%

9.7%

12–14years

Boys

Girls

Total

11.0%

7.5%

9.3%

15–17years

Boys

Girls

Total

12.2%

6.6%

9.5%

5–17years

Boys

Girls

Total

11.2%

7.8%

9.6%

Wehavemadeapromisetochildrentoendchildlabour

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Sub-SaharanAfrica

23.9%

86.6million

Sub-SaharanAfricastandsoutastheregionwiththehighestprevalenceand

largestnumberofchildreninchildlabour

LatinAmerica

andthe

Caribbean

NorthernAfricaandWesternAsia

Easternand

CentralandSouthernAsia

Percentageandnumberofchildrenaged5to17yearsinchildlabour,byregion

South-EasternAsia

Europeand

NorthernAmerica

.

2.3%

3.8million

7.8%

10.1million

Notes:Thesizeofthebubblesisproportionatetotheabsolutenumberofchildreninchild

6.0%

8.2million

labour.Thefigureshowsregionalgroupings

6.2%

24.3million

5.5%

26.3million

usedforSDGreporting.TheregionofOceaniaisomittedbecauseoflowdatacoverage.

Forthisreason,region-specificnumbersdonotadduptotheglobaltotal.

Mostchildreninchildlabourworkwithin

theirownfamilyunit

Percentagedistributionofchildrenaged5to17yearsinchildlabour,bystatusatwork

ContributingfamilyworkersEmployees

Own-accountworkers

ImpactofCOVID-19

Withoutmitigationmeasures,thenumberof

childreninchildlabourcouldrisefrom160

millionin2020to168.9millionbytheendof2022

Numberofchildrenaged5to17yearsinchildlabour,projectedtotheendof2022

Ifausteritymeasuresorotherfactorscauseaslippageinsocial

protectioncoverage

206.2million

17.3%

10.7%

World

72.1%

Note:Duetorounding,figuresin

percentagesdonotaddupto100percent.

168.9million

Duetoanincreaseinpovertyandinthe

absenceofadditionalmitigationmeasures

Theagriculturalsector

accountsforthe

19.7%

largestshareofchildlabourworldwide

144.9million

Ifsocialprotection

coverageisincreased

10.3%

World

70.0%

Percentagedistributionofchildrenaged5to17yearsinchildlabour,bysectorofeconomicactivity

AgricultureServices

Industry

?UNICEF/UNI274800/Soumaila

Thereisnotimetolose

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Introduction

?UNICEF/UN0390908/LeMoyne

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15

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Everyday,Archiewakesat5a.m.,getsdressed,hasbreakfastandwalkstowork.Therehesqueezeshimselfintoanarrowgaptodigblindlyforgoldinadeepundergroundpit,oftenunderwater,breathingthroughahoseconnectedtoadiesel-poweredcompressor.After10or12hoursoflabour,hereturnshome,hassomedinnerandgoestosleep.Archieis11.Someofhisyoungfriendswhoworkatthepithaulsacksofsandandgravelweighingmorethantheydo,alldaylong.

Rafael,12,sleepsinashackinthewoods.Hedoesnothavemuchtoeat,mainlyriceandblackbeans.Hedrinksfromthewaterpitthatheshareswiththebullsonthefarmwherehehasbeenworkingforfiveyears,helpingtopayoffhisfather’sdebt.

Taisha,16,cooksbreakfast,cleansthehouseandcaresforhergrandmothers,whichtakesupmostofherday.WithherschoolclosedduringtheCOVID-19pandemic,herchoreshaveincreased.Shetriestowatcheducationalprogrammesontelevisionbutdoesnothaveenoughtimetokeepup.Astheonlymemberofherfamilyevertogotoschool,shegetsverylittlesupport.

Aroundtheworld,160millionchildrenlikeArchie,RafaelandTaishatoilinchildlabourtoday.Atanagewhentheyshouldbenurturedandsupportedthrougheducation,adequat