World Day Against Child Labour 2015

New ILO study points to the long-term impact of child labour

Around 20 to 30 per cent of children in low income countries complete their school to work transition by the age of 15 and even more leave school prior to this age, says a new ILO report prepared for World Day against Child Labour.

Press release | 11 June 2015
HANOI (ILO News) – Around 20 to 30 per cent of children in low income countries complete their school to work transition by the age of 15 and even more leave school prior to this age, says a new ILO report prepared for World Day against Child Labour.

The "World Report on Child Labour 2015: Paving the way to decent work for young people" shows that young persons who were burdened by work as children are consistently more likely to have to settle for unpaid family jobs and are more likely to be in low paying jobs.

“Our new report shows the need for a coherent policy approach that tackles child labour and the lack of decent jobs for youth together. Keeping children in school and receiving a good education until at least the minimum age of employment will determine the whole life of a child. It is the only way for a child to acquire the basic knowledge and skills needed for further learning, and for her or his future working life,” ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said.

Main findings

The report addresses the twin challenges of eliminating child labour and ensuring decent work for young people. Based on a 12 country survey, it examines the future careers of former child labourers and early school leavers.

The main findings of the report are that:
  • Prior involvement in child labour is associated with lower educational attainment, and later in life with jobs that fail to meet basic decent work criteria;
  • Early school leavers are less likely to secure stable jobs and are at greater risk of remaining outside the world of work altogether;
  • A high share of 15-17 year olds in many countries are in jobs that have been classified as hazardous or worst forms of child labour;
  • Those in hazardous work are more likely to have left school early before reaching the legal minimum age of employment.

The report recommends early interventions to get children out of child labour and into school as well as measures to facilitate the transition from school to decent work opportunities for young people.

Particular attention should be given to the 47.5 million young people aged 15-17 in hazardous work and the special vulnerabilities of female children and youth.

“National policies should be directed towards removing young people from hazardous jobs or towards removing the hazards in the workplace,” Ryder said.

The ILO’s most recent estimate is that 168 million children are in child labour, with 120 million aged 5-14. The report underscores the critical importance of intervening early in the lifecycle against child labour.

Child labour in Viet Nam

About 1.75 million Vietnamese children are in child labour – or doing work below the appropriate legal minimum working age, according to the National Child Labour Survey launched in 2014.

The number is equivalent to nearly 10 per cent of children aged 5-17 in the country and three in every five of them are between 15 and 17 of age.

Nearly 85% of the child labourers live in the countryside and 65% of child labourers are found in agriculture. They are often unpaid family workers.

The survey showed that one-third of the child labourers have to work an average more than 42 hours per week.

The concept of child labour does not cover all working children. In Viet Nam, the laws allow children of some certain age groups to do some types of work with certain amount of time that does not affect their health, schooling and development.

The Government of Viet Nam has made remarkable efforts in the fight against child labour, especially its worst forms, by harmonizing the national legal framework with the international labour standards and improving the basic education system. Viet Nam ratified two relevant fundamental ILO conventions – the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention and Minimum Age Convention in 2000 and 2003 respectively.

For more information, please contact:


Tran Quynh Hoa (Ms)
National Communications Officer
ILO Country Office for Viet Nam
48-50 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Hanoi
Tel: (84-4) 37340907 Ext.218
Mobile: (84) 904 409 787
Email: hoahancom@ilo.org