Child Labor in the World: A Shameful Debt Yet to Be Settled

While part of the world celebrates technological advancements and even competes to conquer stars and planets, a statistic that should evoke collective shame dominates the headlines: 138 million children remain trapped in child labor.

This alarming figure comes from a recent joint report by UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO), Child Labor: Global Estimates 2024, Trends, and the Path Forward, which reveals that despite international commitments and decades of efforts, the eradication of this form of exploitation remains far from being achieved.

Even more concerning is that 54 million of these children are engaged in hazardous work, exposing them to severe physical or psychological risks that compromise their health, safety, and development.

Many of them do not attend school, lack legal protection, and remain invisible to social assistance systems. These are boys and girls forced to become adults prematurely in order to survive in contexts of extreme vulnerability.

A Problem with Uneven Distribution

The geography of child labor reveals stark contrasts. Sub-Saharan Africa bears the dishonorable distinction of being the most affected region, with approximately 87 million child laborers—nearly two-thirds of its total child population.

In contrast, Asia and the Pacific have achieved the greatest reduction in child labor, lowering their rate from 6% to 3%.

Meanwhile, in Latin America and the Caribbean, while the prevalence of child labor has remained stable over the past four years, the total number of children involved in this painful practice has decreased by nearly one million, according to the report. This progress is attributed to stronger public policies and greater international cooperation.

Global inequality is harshly reflected in this grim reality, where poverty and conflict intensify while children's rights regress.

UN agencies warn that it is more crucial than ever to increase and sustain funding, both globally and nationally, to preserve the gains made in recent years. This is decisive because if support for education and social protection declines, many families could be forced to send their children back to work.

Smiles Withering Under the Sun

Agriculture accounts for 61% of global child labor. Some might assume that in rural areas, this figure should not be surprising, as child labor has traditionally been seen as part of family survival. However, this normalization obscures the long-term effects: entire generations deprived of schooling, opportunities, and proper physical and mental development.

The situation of girls deserves special mention: in addition to agricultural work, they take on unpaid domestic labor, further depriving them of time to study, play, or rest. This double burden on their young shoulders reinforces gender stereotypes and perpetuates cycles of intergenerational poverty.

After agriculture, the services sector (27%)—including domestic work and street vending—and industry (13%)—covering mining and manufacturing—follow as the next largest sectors employing child labor.

Solutions and Political Will

Since 2020, there has been a reduction of over 20 million children subjected to labor, marking a shift from the previous four-year trend. However, it will still be nearly impossible to meet the international community's goal of ending child labor by 2025.

Efforts to eradicate this shameful practice remain too slow, and to eliminate it completely within the next five years, the pace of progress would need to be 11 times faster than it is now, UNICEF and the ILO state.

Yet this becomes increasingly unattainable in a world overwhelmed by armed conflicts, trade wars, deepening inequalities, and a disregard for human dignity.

The solution lies in governments investing in social protection for the vulnerable, strengthening child protection systems, and ensuring universal access to quality education, especially in rural areas and crisis-affected zones.

At the same time, decent employment opportunities must be guaranteed for youth and adults, laws must be enforced, and corporations must be held accountable for their labor practices.

These are not new demands, but above all, political will is lacking.

And it is needed now. Because behind every child labor statistic lies a shattered story, a stolen childhood, and a question that strikes like a slap: How much longer will we allow this?

Translated by Sergio Alejandro Paneque / CubaSi Translation Staff