A Deadline Passed. Children Are Still Working
The world set 2025 as the deadline to end child labor. That year has passed, but nearly 138 million children worldwide are still working. For 54 million of them, the work is hazardous enough to threaten their health, safety, or development.
The numbers have improved. The latest ILO–UNICEF estimates show a decline of more than 22 million children between 2020 and 2024, and more than 100 million since 2000. But where children work matters too. Most 61% work in agriculture, often on small family farms. Another 27% work in services, and 13% in industries including manufacturing, construction, and mining.
I find it difficult to call this a success without thinking about the children behind the remaining numbers. A falling total matters, but it does not give those children their school days back. At the current pace, the ILO warns, ending child labor is still decades away.
The missed deadline makes me question what a global target can accomplish on its own. A child may need to work because their family has too little income, school is out of reach, or adults cannot find decent work. Conflict and weak social protection can leave families with even fewer choices. These conditions help explain why progress has been so uneven.
If we want the next promise to mean more, we need to look beyond the global total and ask a harder question: what would have to change for a child’s chance to learn and grow to depend less on where they were born?
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