MILLIONS OF TINY HANDS STILL IN CHAINS

Ending child labour and exploitation is the foundation of social and economic resilience

- BY LUJAN MOURAD | Special to Gulf News

As of 2024, an estimated 138 million children — around 8 per cent of all children globally — remain in child labour, and among them, 54 million endure hazardous work that threatens both their health and development.

While global child labour decreased by over 22 million children between 2020 and 2024, progress in this respect could still be sped up greatly to address the urgency. Sub-Saharan Africa bears the greatest burden, with 87 million children in child labour; regional prevalence declined only slightly from 23.9 per cent to 21.5 per cent since 2020, with total numbers unchanged due to population growth.