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3. If the child is 15-17 years and is performing any economic activity for 43 hours or more, andor
performing hazardous work, this work is also regarded as child labour. If children between 12 and 17 years of age are engaged in economic activities, but spend less than 14
hours a week on that activity, while the activity itself is not of a hazardous nature carrying heavy loads andor working with dangerous tools or heavy machinery, then such children are regarded as working
children, but not engaging in child labour.
5.5.2 Prevalence of child labour and their conditions of work
As
Table 5.7
shows, in 2013-14, of a total population of 10.3 million children between 5
and 17 years of age, 2.7 million children or 27 percent were in child labour. Four percent of all
children in this age group were working children, while slightly more than two thirds were not
working. Nearly half of all children in child labour 46 percent were between 5 and 11 years
of age. Nearly two thirds of all children in child labour 65 percent were boys. In fact, of the
entire population of boys between 5 and 17 years of age, a third was engaged in child labour. In
contrast, a fifth of the total population of girls in this age group was in child labour.
Table 5.8: Children aged 5 to 17, by activity status, and by sex, age ILO definition in thousands
Sex, age Not working
Working child Child labourer
Total Both sexes
7,175.9 412.0
2,736.2 10,324.0
5-11 4,877.7
0.0 1,254.5
6,132.2 12-14
1,343.1 190.9
834.5 2,368.5
15-17 955.1
221.1 647.2
1,823.3 Total perc.
69.5 4.0
26.5 100.0
Boys 3,441.7
220.4 1,781.6
5,443.7 5-11
2,456.6 0.0
764.9 3,221.5
12-14 612.2
103.4 565.5
1,281.1 15-17
372.9 117.0
451.2 941.1
Total perc. 63.2
4.0 32.7
100.0 Girls
3,734.2 191.5
954.6 4,880.4
5-11 2,421.1
0.0 489.6
2,910.7 12-14
731.0 87.5
269.0 1,087.5
15-17 582.2
104.0 196.0
882.2 Total perc.
76.5 3.9
19.6 100.0
It can be seen from the table that in every age cohort, more boys are engaged in child labour than are girls, and that the gender difference increases with age. This is most likely related to traditions of female
seclusion and early marriage when girls mature. Child labour is particularly prevalent among boys 12 years and over, and has implications for their chances of attending secondary school.
Figure 5.26
shows
UNICEF and child labour
UNICEF applies the same criteria for child labour as the ILO, but in addition includes household chores in
child labour if these are done for 28 hours or more per week by children under 15 years of age and for 43
hours or more per week by children aged 15 to 17.
If UNICEF’s definition were to be applied, then the proportion of children between 5 and 17 years of age
engaged in child labour rises to 29 percent. For boys and girls, the respective proportions according to the
UNICEF definition rise to 34 and 24 percent, respectively. Section 5.5.4 elaborates on child labour
according to the UNICEF definition
85
the distribution of the population of boys and girls in each age cohort over the three categories of child activity.
Figure 5.26: Boys and girls aged 5 to 17, by age, and by activity status in percentages
a. Boys b. Girls
Figure 5.27
shows the mean hours of work that working children and child labourers spend on economically productive work each week. The hours worked by working children are obviously fewer
than those of child labourers, given the criteria to classify children into these two working status categories. The figure clearly indicates that the working time burden increases with age, both for
working children and child labourers. It also shows that working boys and girls spend about equal hours working, but that boys in child labour spend longer hours working than their girl peers. Moreover, this
gender difference increases with age. Some 5 percent of child labourers
– 114 thousand boys and 18 thousand girls
– work more than 43 hours per week.
Figure 5.27: Mean hours worked by children aged 5 to 16, by working status, and by sex
Figure 5.28
shows the extent to which child labourers are exposed to hazardous conditions. While a higher proportion of boys than girls are exposed to hazardous conditions, at least half of all child
labourers, more boys 61 percent than girls 53 percent, are exposed to dust, gas and fumes. A similar proportion of labouring boys, but a marginally higher proportion of girls is exposed to extreme cold,
77 83
67 66
4 8
12 20
17 25
22
Total 5-11
12-14 15-17
Age 63
76 48
40 4
8 12
33 24
44 48
20 40
60 80
100
Total 5-11
12-14 15-17
P er
ce n
tag e
Age Not working child
Working child Child labourer
5.7 5.8
11.9 10.7
11.9 9.9
17.2 13.7
21.3 15.8
2 4
6 8
10 12
14 16
18 20
22 24
Boys 5-11 Girls 5-11
Boys 12-14 Girls 12-14 Boys 15-17 Girls 15-17
Ho u
rs
Sex and age Working child
Child labourer
86
heat or humidity. Meanwhile, 43 percent of boys and 38 percent of girls who have undertaken child labour have been injured or have fallen ill as a result of the work he or she had been doing.
Figure 5.28:
Child labourers’ exposure to hazardous conditions, by sex in percentages
a
Numbers in parentheses denote the proportion of girls and boys accounting for the total population of children between 5 and 17 years of age in child labour.
5.5.3 Causes and consequences of child labour
