World Day Against Child Labour

What Is World Day Against Child Labour?

June 12 marks "World Day Against Child Labour," established by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2002. The day aims to raise global awareness of the child labour that persists around the world and to call for action toward its elimination. Awareness-raising activities are held in many countries every year on this day.

The State of Child Labour Worldwide

According to estimates released by the ILO and UNICEF in June 2025, around 138 million children worldwide were in child labour in 2024, including about 54 million in hazardous work likely to jeopardize their health, safety, or development.

• Progress, but not enough: The number of children in child labour has nearly halved from about 246 million in 2000.
• Agriculture comes first: About 60% of child labour is in agriculture, followed by services (such as domestic work and selling goods in markets) and industry (such as mining and manufacturing).
• Regional differences: Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected region, with about 87 million children in child labour.

International Rules and Goals

The ILO has adopted a convention setting the minimum age for admission to employment (No. 138, adopted in 1973) and a convention calling for the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour (No. 182, adopted in 1999). The UN Sustainable Development Goals set a target of ending child labour in all its forms by 2025 (Target 8.7), but it has not been achieved.

Why Does Child Labour Persist?

Poverty, lack of access to education, inadequate social safety nets, and discrimination all intertwine to perpetuate the problem. The ILO works with governments, businesses, and civil society to create conditions in which children can go to school instead of working. Child labour has been reported in the production of raw materials for familiar products, such as cocoa for chocolate and cotton for clothing. This day is also an opportunity to consider how the products we use every day are made.