Indicator 8.7.1 Proportion and number of children aged 5–17 years engaged in child labour, by sex and age

Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. 

Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms 

Indicator 8.7.1: Proportion and number of children aged 5-17 years engaged in child labour, by sex and age

November, 2021

1.1.1, 8.3.1, 8.5.2, 10.4.1

Uganda Bureau of Statistics

Sharon Apio

Labour Statistics Unit

Senior Statistician

+256 782 770851

P.O. Box 7186, Kampala

sharon.apio@ubos.org

The number of children engaged in child labour corresponds to the number of children reported to be in child labour during the reference period (usually the week prior to the survey). The proportion of children in child labour is calculated as the number of children in child labour divided by the total number of children in the population.  For the purposes of this indicator, children include all persons aged 5 to 17.  

Three principal international legal instruments – ILO Convention No. 138 (Minimum Age) (C138), United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), ILO Convention No. 182 (Worst Forms) (C182) together set the legal boundaries for child labour, and provide the legal basis for national and international actions against it. In accordance with these instruments, child labour is work that children should not be doing because (a) they are too young or (b) is likely to harm their health, safety or morals, due to its nature or the conditions in which it is carried out. 

The resolutions adopted by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS), the world’s acknowledged standard-setting body in the area of labour statistics, provide the basis for translating the legal standards govern ing the concept of child labour into statistical terms for the purpose of child labour measurement.  

In accordance with the ICLS resolutions1, child labour can be measured on the basis of the production boundary set by the United Nations System of National Accounts (SNA) or on the basis of the general production boundary. The former limits the frame of reference to economic activity, while the latter extends it to include both economic activity and unpaid household services, that is, the production of domestic and personal services by a household member for consumption within their own household, commonly called “household chores”.  

Following from this, two indicators are used for measuring child labour for the purpose of SDG reporting, the first based on the production boundary set by the United Nations System of National Accounts (SNA) and the second based on the general production boundary.  

Indicator 1: Proportion and number of children aged 5-17 years engaged in economic activities at or above age-specific hourly thresholds (SNA production boundary basis)

 Child labour for the 5 to 11 age range: children working at least 1 hour per week in economic activity; 

Child labour for the 12 to 14 age range: children working for at least 14 hours per week in economic activity; 

Child labour for the 15 to 17 age range: children working for more than 43 hours per week in economic activity. 

Indicator 2: Proportion and number of children aged 5-17 years engaged in economic activities and household chores at or above age-specific hourly thresholds (general production boundary basis): 

Child labour for the 5 to 11 age range: children working at least 1 hour per week in economic activity and/or involved in unpaid household services for more than 21 hours per week; 

Child labour for the 12 to 13 age range: children working for at least 14 hours per week in economic activity and/ or involved in unpaid household services for more than 21 hours per week; 

Child labour for the 15 to 17 age range: children working for more than 43 hours per week in economic activity. 

The concept of child labour also includes the worst forms of child labour other than hazardous (18th ICLS paragraphs 33 to 34) as well as hazardous work (18th ICLS paragraphs 21 to 32). The worst forms of child labour include all forms of slavery or similar practices such as trafficking and the recruitment and use of child soldiers, the use or procure ment of children for prostitution or other illicit activities, and other work that is likely to harm children’s health, safety or well-being.  

Percent

The definition of child labour is in line with the standard set by the latest 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians. Resolution to amend the 18th ICLS Resolution concerning statistics of child labour. ILO. Geneva, October 2019.

The Uganda National Household surveys-(UNHS)

The 2019/20 UNHS underwent several stages before production and sharing of the final findings. These included: survey planning, consultative user needs assessment meetings, survey and sampling design, questionnaire development, pretesting and finalization of questionnaires, recruitment and training of field staff, field data collection and capture, data processing, management, checking and analysis; report writing and production. At each stage, the survey conformed to international best practices in survey implementation. In addition, all relevant international standards have been followed in generation of the indicator.

Sample Design

The 2019/20 UNHS sample was designed to allow generation of separate estimates at the national level, for urban and rural areas and for the 15 sub-regions of Uganda. At the time of the survey, there were 129 functional districts. A two-stage stratified sampling design was used. At the first stage, EAs were grouped by districts of similar socio economic characteristics and by rural-urban location. The EAs were then drawn using Probability Proportional to Size. At the second stage, households which are the ultimate sampling units were drawn using Systematic Random Sampling. A total of 1,651 EAs were selected from the 2014 National Population and Housing Census (NPHC) list which constituted the Sampling Frame. The EAs were then grouped into 15 sub regions, taking into consideration the standard errors required for estimation of poverty indicators at sub-regions and the rural-urban domains.

Training and data collection

A team of field supervisors and interviewers were recruited and trained for the main survey. The training was conducted in a period of 14 days. The main approach of the training comprised instructions in relation to interviewing techniques and field procedures, a detailed review of the data collection modules, tests and practice using hand held Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) devices. The training also included classroom mock interviews and field practice in selected EAs outside of the main survey sample. Team supervisors were further trained in data quality control procedures and coordination of fieldwork activities.

Prior to the main fieldwork, the data collection module were pretested to ensure that the questions were clear, f lowing and easily understood by the respondents.

UNHS-LFS Module – Every after 3 years

2023/24

Uganda Bureau of Statistics

UBOS

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics Act 1998 provides for the development and maintenance of the National Statistical System (NSS) to ensure collection, analysis and publication of integrated, relevant, reliable and timely statistical information.

A large share of children in the world remain trapped in child labour, compromising their individual future and our collective futures. According to the latest ILO global estimates, about 152 million children worldwide – 64 million girls and 88 million boys - are child laborers, accounting for almost 10 percent of the child population.  These stark figures underscore the need for accelerated progress against child labour in the lead up to the 2025 target date for ending child labour in all its forms, and the accompanying need for child labour statistics to monitor and guide efforts in this regard.  Reliable, comprehensive and timely data on the nature and extent of child labour provide a basis for determining priorities for national global action against child labour. Statistical information on child labour and more broadly on all working children, also provide a basis for increasing public awareness of the situation of working children and for the development of appropriate regulatory frameworks and policies. 

While the concept of child labour includes working in activities that are hazardous in nature, to ensure comparability of estimates over time and to minimize data quality issues, work beyond age-specific hourly thresholds is used as a proxy for hazardous work for the purpose of reporting on SDG indicator 8.7.1. Further methodological work is needed to validate questions specifically aimed at identifying children in hazardous working conditions. 

Similarly, while the worst forms of child labour other than hazardous also form part of the concept of child labour more broadly, data on the worst forms of child labour are not currently captured in regular household surveys given difficul ties with accurately and reliably measuring it. Therefore, this element of child labour is not captured by the indicators used for reporting on SDG 8.7.1.   

In addition, ‘own use production of goods’, including activities such as fetching water and collecting firewood, falls within the production boundary set by the United Nations System of National Accounts (SNA). However, for the purpose of SDG reporting of indicator 8.7.1, and with the goal of facilitating international comparability, fetching water and collecting firewood have been classified as unpaid household services (i.e., household chores), a form of production that lies outside the SNA production boundary.  

More broadly, child labour estimates based on the statistical standards set out in the ICLS resolution represent use ful benchmarks for international comparative purposes but are not necessarily consistent with estimates based on national child labour legislation. ILO Convention No. 138 contains a number of flexibility clauses left to the discretion of the competent national authority in consultation (where relevant) with workers’ and employers’ organizations (e.g., minimum ages, scope of application).3 This means that there is no single legal definition of child labour across countries, and thus, no single statistical measure of child labour consistent with national legislation across countries.

Children aged 5-17: Number of children aged 5-17 reported in child labour during the week prior to the survey divided by the total number of children aged 5-17 in the population, multiplied by 100%.  

Children aged 5-14: Number of children aged 5-14 reported in child labour during the week prior to the survey divided by the total number of children aged 5-14 in the population, multiplied by 100%.  

Children aged 15-17: Number of children aged 15-17 reported child labour during the week prior to the survey divided by the total number of children aged 15-17 in the population, multiplied by 100%.

Trend and independent analysis

Hold data validation stakeholder reviews before dissemination

In accordance with the 18th ICLS resolutions; Child Labour can be measured on the basis of the production boundary set by the United Nations System of National Accounts (SNA) or on the basis of the general production boundary.

Quality Management is addressed through a series of activities by the UBOS Top management;

1. The survey implementation is overseen by a Technical Working Group which is constituted using a multi-sectorial approach.
2. The survey report is reviewed by an experienced team at Management level who are in most cases Directors or Heads of departments.

The 2019/20 UNHS underwent several stages before production and sharing of the final findings. During the Survey implementation.

1. Consultative user needs assessment meetings are held with all key stakeholders.
2. The survey and sampling design generated using scientific methods as recommended by the Census and Survey Rules and Regulations.
3. The questionnaire development follows a multi-stakeholder approach and pretesting helps to establish the relevancy and adequacy of the questions to be used.
4. Senior Supervision is conducted during data collection to ensure that quality data is collected

Data editing, cleaning and coding is undertaken before analysis and report writing

Before dissemination, the report is reviewed and quality assured by the Department of Outreach and Quality Assurance at the Bureau.

Data availability:

Data for this indicator is available.

Time series:

Data series covers a period from 2016/17 and 2019/20..

Disaggregation:

Data disaggregated sex and age. .

Comparable

Uganda National Household Survey reports (2012/13- 2019/20) and Annual Labour Force Survey reports (2017/18 – 2018/19).