28 1957), including “(b) as a method of mobilising and using labour for purposes of economic development.”
C. Sectors and geographies with child labour practices In terms of economic domains, 70.9% of child labourers globally were engaged in agricultural work (108 million). The remaining child labourers worked in services (17.2%), and the others in some form of industry (11.9%) (International Labour Office, 2017a). In terms of regional differences, the African continent is home to the highest number of child labourers, as well as the highest number of children performing hazardous work (see Figure 4). While Asia and the Pacific trail in second place, in absolute terms they do not have far fewer child labourers than Africa. Figure 4: Child Labour and Hazardous Work by Region, Percentage and Absolute Number (in Thousands) of Children, 5-17 Age Range, 2016
Note: Bubble size is proportionate to absolute number of children in child labour and hazardous work in each region. Source: Global estimates of child labour: Results and trends, 2012-2016, (International Labour Office, 2017a), URL
Agriculture and industry are domains that have supply chains also reaching the EU: IPEC+ estimated that between 5-15% of child labourers are estimated to be working in global supply chains (ILO, 2017).