Child labor is defined as some work for children that are physically, mentally and morally harming their proper upbringing.
International conventions adopted by the United Nations and the International Labor Organization define “child” as anyone below the age of 18, and “child labor” as some types of work performed by children below age 18. According to the International Labor Convention, appropriate minimum age of work for children are 15 in developed countries or lower than 14 in developing nation. Not all sort of labor is bad for children. Only that which requires physical exhaustion or wastes time is not acceptable. Work that can give them money without taking their energy and saving time is very acceptable
Work of a child ranges from small manufacturing of  footwear, clay pots to taking care of animals and planting and harvesting food .Agriculture sector attracts and provides job to the most child labors according to the UNICEF and ILO reports.

Child labor is illegal, yet scores of children around the world are put through this drudgery as without this survival of their families would be impossible. 61% of the worlds working children are found in Asia, 32% in Africa and 7% in Latin America and Caribbean.

Nearly 16% of the world’s children are involved in child labor which is exploitative in nature and clearly violates the rights of children and International Labor Standards. Almost 75% of them work in hazardous environments, such as mines or factories, or with dangerous substances, such as chemicals.

The majority of child laborers are “invisible” hidden from sight and beyond the right of the law. Many of these children are not only being exploited, they are often being denied education, basic health care, adequate nutrition, leisure time and the safety and security of their families and communities.

UNICEF considers education and literacy as the best weapons against child labor because when children will get educated, they will get a white collar job. At schools and colleges, children will face a tough schedule because of which they won’t be left with a chance to go for any job. If we look at the other side of the picture, most of the children who are a part of child labor aren’t at school and because of unavoidable circumstances are earning their livelihood at a very small age.

Preliminary analysis shows that in more than 30 countries covering 35% of the developing world population, 19% of 5-14 year old children are working. There are no significant differences between boys and girls in the proportion working.

However, there are substantial urban-rural differences, with 21% of child aged 5-15 working in rural areas as compared to 13% in urban areas. Sub-Saharan African countries show the highest proportions of children working.

The causes of child labor are pretty direct and obvious. Poverty is the major cause for child labor. The biggest example is Africa where child labor is prevalent because 70% of Africa lives below the poverty life. Children there don’t enjoy a luxurious and lavish lifestyle when compared to Europeans and American continents. Lack of infrastructure and absence of proper schools and health facility combines to form another factor which causes poverty. Countries that have decaying economies such as Zimbabwe are at the most risk of child labor. Other factors that give rise to poverty are increasing population and unemployment. Increased population means larger families to feed which means that more members have to earn their livelihood. Unemployment is also another reason for child labor as specialized jobs aren’t available and children have to work for extremely low wages.

The governments of under developed and developing nations should take concrete steps to erase child labor as its eroding our future generations