Today's child worker will be tomorrow's uneducated and untrained adult, forever trapped in grinding poverty. Labour ministers from the ILO's 173 member States will gather in Geneva on 12 June to discuss ways to accelerate efforts to eliminate child labour, particularly and as a matter of priority in its most damaging and abusive forms, including forced or slave labour, work with toxic substances and child prostitution. Child labour has been increasing steadily in the towns and cities of developing countries as a result of the rapid global urbanization. Urban working children are found mainly in trade and services and to a lesser extent in the manufacturing sector. Despite this growing urbanization of developing countries, nine out of 10 employed children globally are engaged in agriculture or related activities, living in rural areas.
Available statistics suggest that more boys than girls work.
Globally, the ILO estimates that nearly 41 million boys aged 10-14 are working, compared to 32.5 million girls. Girls, moreover, tend to work longer hours, on average, than do boys. In Latin America, 5.1 million children aged 10-14 are employed, or 9.8 percent of the age group. Child labour also exists in richer industrialized countries, though generally in much smaller percentages than in developing nations. In southern Europe, significant numbers of children are working for pay, in particular in seasonal activities, street trades, small workshops or in a home setting, the ILO report says.