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However, there is no universally accepted definition of child labour. Varying definitions of the term are used by international organisations, non-governmental organisations, trade unions and other interest groups. Writers and speakers don’t always specify what definition they are using, often leading to confusion.
To avoid confusion, when writing or speaking about "child labour", it is best to explain exactly what you mean by child labour — or, if someone else is speaking, ask for a definition. This website uses the first definition cited in this section: "Child labour" is work for children under age 18 that in some way harms or exploits them - physically, mentally, morally, or by blocking access to education.
Who Is a "Child"?
International conventions define children as people aged 18 and under. Individual governments may define "child" according to different ages or other criteria. "Child" and "childhood" are also defined differently by different cultures. A "child" is not necessarily defined by a fixed age. Social scientists point out that children’s abilities and maturities vary so much that defining a child’s maturity by calendar age can be misleading.
Who Are Child Labourers and How Many Are There?
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), "215 million children under 18 work, many fulltime. In Sub Saharan African 1 in 4 children aged 5-17 work, compared to 1 in 8 in Asia Pacific and 1 in 10 in Latin America." Moreover, some 8.4 million children were engaged in so-called 'unconditional' worst forms of child labour, which include forced and bonded labour, the use of children in armed conflict, trafficking in children and commercial sexual exploitation. Unicef’s State of the World’s Children Report says that although the exact number is not known, it is surely in the hundreds of millions. More information about who child labourers are, where they live, and new statistics on the total number can be found here.
According to figures from the University of Iowa, 53 per cent of child labourers live in Asia and the Pacific, 30 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa, and seven per cent in Latin America.
Creative Commons - Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Henri Ismail
What Do Child Labourers Do?
According to the ILO, 58.6 per cent of child labourers work in agriculture. Other industries that frequently rely on child labour include maufacturing, mining, quarrying, construction, domestic service and general service such as in retail, restaurants and hotels.
It is generally thought that boys become involved in child labour more often than girls, although exact figures on this can be difficult to estimate. As UNICEF states: "Although aggregate numbers suggest that more boys than girls are involved in child labour, many of the types of work girls are involved in are invisible. It is estimated that roughly 90 per cent of children involved in domestic labour are girls."