One in 17 children is working: Here are the industries driving child labour

There are approximately 2.4 billion minors around the world who are aged below 18 years.

Nearly 138 million of these children – about one in 17 – are engaged in child labour, including 54 million in hazardous work that endangers their health and safety, according to estimates by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF.

On World Day Against Child Labour, Al Jazeera takes a look at the latest numbers on child labour, the industries where it is most prevalent and the countries and regions bearing the heaviest burdens.

In 2015, the United Nations set a goal to end child labour worldwide by 2025. That deadline has now passed. Although the total number of children in child labour has declined, two in five of those children still work in hazardous jobs that often involve heavy physical labour, exposure to toxic chemicals, dangerous machinery, long hours, or unsafe environments.

UNICEF and the ILO warn that such work can cause injury, illness and lasting damage to a child’s physical and mental development. Many of the children doing these jobs are also missing out on school, trapping families in cycles of poverty that can span generations.

Agriculture remains the world’s largest employer of children, accounting for 61 percent of all child labour cases. That means roughly 84 million children are working on farms, fisheries, forests and livestock production.

Children carry heavy sacks across fields, spray crops with pesticides, descend into mines, work with sharp tools and machinery and spend long hours in extreme heat. Much of the world’s dangerous child labour is concentrated in the sector.

In many rural communities, work starts before sunrise and competes directly with schooling.