ILO Launches Global Child Labour Observatory to Strengthen Data, Policy and Accountability

The Child Labour Observatory brings together structured, comparable information to support decision-making, transparency, and accountability in the fight against child labour.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched the Child Labour Observatory (CLO), a new centralized global platform providing country-level information on child labour across all 187 ILO Member States.

Established in response to the Durban Call to Action on the Elimination of Child Labour, the CLO is designed as a one-stop hub for official data, legislation, policies, and evidence of progress — aimed at accelerating efforts to end child labour worldwide.

A One-Stop Platform for Tracking Progress

The Child Labour Observatory brings together structured, comparable information to support decision-making, transparency, and accountability in the fight against child labour.

It is intended to serve a wide range of stakeholders, including:

• Policymakers and governments

• Researchers and development partners

• Employers’ and workers’ organizations

• Businesses and supply chain actors

• Civil society and international organizations

The platform enables users to track trends, compare national and regional progress, and identify gaps where stronger action is needed.

Three Core Pillars of Country-Level Information

To improve accessibility and usability, the CLO is organized around three main pillars:

Context

Official statistics and visualizations on children in economic activity and household chores, disaggregated by:

• Age

• Sex

National Legal Framework

Key legislative protections, including:

• Minimum age for employment

• Hazardous work lists

• Legal provisions on the worst forms of child labour

Policies and Plans

National strategies and programmes aimed at eliminating child labour, such as:

• Action plans

• Government policies

• Targeted interventions

All entries are based on official sources and linked directly to original references to ensure transparency and traceability.

Complementing the Forced Labour Observatory

The CLO complements the ILO’s existing Forced Labour Observatory (FLO), together strengthening the global evidence base on labour exploitation.

While the CLO focuses on child labour, the FLO provides comprehensive global and country-level information on:

• Forced labour

• Trafficking in persons

• Legal and institutional frameworks

• Enforcement and prevention measures

• Protection, remedies and access to justice

• Fair recruitment and due diligence

• International cooperation

Developed in line with the ILO’s mandate to improve comparable global evidence, the FLO supports countries and partners in understanding and addressing forced labour risks and outcomes.

Supporting Evidence-Based Action

Both observatories are designed as practical tools to strengthen coordinated efforts to eliminate child labour and forced labour through:

• Policy formulation and review: benchmarking frameworks and identifying implementation gaps

• Research and analysis: comparing trends across countries and regions

• Responsible business conduct: supporting due diligence, prevention strategies, and informed engagement across supply chains

Strengthening Global Coordination to End Child Labour

The ILO is inviting users worldwide to explore the Child Labour Observatory and Forced Labour Observatory as key resources to track progress, strengthen accountability, and support evidence-based national and international action.

Together, the platforms aim to accelerate coordinated efforts toward the elimination of child labour and forced labour — and to ensure that policies and protections are grounded in reliable, transparent information.