Child workers, almost all of whom are employed without social security, are forced to work under more difficult conditions than women and immigrants, who are the most oppressed groups among the worker groups, and they do not receive compensation for their labor. Statistical data by UNICEF and the ILO (International Labor Organization) show that the number of child workers has increased gradually after wars and economic crises.

There are 160 million child workers in the world

According to ILO data, a total of 160 million children (almost one every 10) are working. Of these, 63 million are girls and 97 million are boys. About half of these children work in hazardous jobs that affect their health and development.

Although a decrease was achieved in the number of child workers from 2000 to 2012, it is possible to see that the decrease has slowed down between 2012 and 2016. Considering the distribution of child labor in the world, Africa leads the way in child labor, both in percentage and number, with 92 million children, and one in five children on the continent is a worker. In the Asia-Pacific region, which ranks second, 49 million children are workers. In the Americas, 8.3 million, in Europe and Central Asia, 8.3 million and in the Arab countries, 2.4 million.

Children mostly employed in the agriculture sector

In the distribution of child labor by sectors, agriculture has by far the largest share, with 70 percent of child workers in the world; that is 112 million child agricultural workers.

31.4 million children work in the service sector and 16.5 million in industry.

Children between the ages of 5 and 11 make up the largest proportion of child workers, as well as the majority of those working in hazardous work. 48% of child workers are in the 5-11 age group, 28 percent are in the 12-14 age group, and 25 percent are in the 15-17 age group.

Five million child workers in Turkey in the summer

The report published by the Occupational Health and Safety Council (ISIG) in 2022, stated that there are at least 2 million child workers in Turkey, and this number approaches 5 million in the summer months.

According to ISIG data, 30.8 percent of the children work in agriculture, 23.7% in industry, 45.5 percent in the service sector, while the remaining hundreds of thousands of children work on the streets, in small and medium-sized enterprises, and in heavy and dangerous jobs.

It is known that at least 571 children have died in occupational accidents in the last 9 years in Turkey.