The List of countries by child labour rate provides rankings of countries based on their rates of child labour. Child labour is defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as participation in economic activity by underage persons aged 5 to 17. Child work harms children, interferes with their education, and prevents their development. The prevalence of child labour is notable in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa. In 2020, around 160 million children worldwide were working. [1]
List of child labour rates according to ILO estimates. [2]
Rank | Country | Child labour rate in % (total) | Child labour rate in % (male) | Child labour rate in % (female) | Ages | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Burkina Faso | 50.3 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2012 [3] |
2 | Somalia | 43.5 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2010 [3] |
3 | Ethiopia | 40.5 | 48.3 | 32.1 | 5–17 | 2015 |
4 | Haiti | 37.8 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2012 [3] |
5 | Uganda | 36.7 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2012 [3] |
6 | Niger | 36.2 | 43.6 | 27.7 | 5–17 | 2014 |
7 | Cameroon | 33.4 | 36.8 | 30.1 | 5–17 | 2014 |
8 | Togo | 32.9 | 34.5 | 31.2 | 5–17 | 2017 |
9 | Madagascar | 29.9 | 33.4 | 26.2 | 5–17 | 2018 |
10 | Nigeria | 28.7 | 29.9 | 27.5 | 5–17 | 2017 |
11 | Mozambique | 27.4 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2008 |
12 | Laos | 26.3 | 26.2 | 26.4 | 5–17 | 2017 |
13 | Malawi | 25.9 | 26.7 | 25.2 | 5–17 | 2015 |
14 | Tonga | 25.9 | 32.9 | 18.5 | 5–17 | 2019 |
15 | Zimbabwe | 25.6 | 31.8 | 19 | 5–17 | 2019 |
16 | Tanzania | 22.8 | 24.2 | 21.3 | 5–17 | 2014 |
17 | Sierra Leone | 21 | 22.4 | 19.6 | 5–17 | 2017 |
18 | Burundi | 20.5 | 21.5 | 19.4 | 5–17 | 2017 |
19 | Kyrgyzstan | 20.1 | 24.2 | 15.6 | 5–17 | 2018 |
20 | Guinea | 19.5 | 21.1 | 17.8 | 5–17 | 2016 |
21 | Afghanistan | 19 | 23.6 | 13.8 | 5–17 | 2014 |
Nepal | 19 | 19 | 19 | 5–17 | 2014 | |
23 | Chad | 17.7 | 18.1 | 17.3 | 5–17 | 2015 |
24 | Ivory Coast | 17.5 | 19.3 | 15.8 | 5–17 | 2016 |
25 | Senegal | 17.1 | 25.6 | 8.6 | 5–17 | 2016 |
26 | Benin | 17 | 17.9 | 16.1 | 5–17 | 2018 |
27 | Yemen | 16.1 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2010 [3] |
28 | Paraguay | 15.5 | 19.4 | 11.5 | 5–17 | 2016 |
29 | Thailand | 15.1 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2006 |
30 | Sudan | 15.3 | 17.3 | 13.2 | 5–17 | 2014 |
31 | Ghana | 14.8 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 5–17 | 2018 |
32 | Bolivia | 13.9 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2015 [3] |
33 | Gambia | 13.6 | 15.5 | 11.9 | 5–17 | 2018 |
34 | Eswatini | 13.3 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2010 [3] |
35 | Peru | 13.2 | 15.3 | 11 | 5–17 | 2015 |
36 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 12.8 | 12 | 13.5 | 5–17 | 2014 |
37 | Mauritania | 12.6 | 14.8 | 10.4 | 5–17 | 2015 |
38 | Liberia | 11.9 | 13.6 | 10.2 | 5–17 | 2010 |
39 | Mali | 11.8 | 13.8 | 9.5 | 5–17 | 2017 |
40 | Cambodia | 11.5 | 10.8 | 12.2 | 5–17 | 2012 |
41 | Republic of the Congo | 10.8 | 10.3 | 11.4 | 5–17 | 2015 |
42 | Angola | 9.7 | 8.9 | 10.4 | 5–17 | 2016 |
43 | Guyana | 9.6 | 9.1 | 10.2 | 5–17 | 2014 |
44 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 9.2 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 5–17 | 2018 |
45 | Guinea-Bissau | 9.1 | 11.1 | 6.8 | 5–17 | 2019 |
Serbia | 9.1 | 11.1 | 6.8 | 5–17 | 2019 | |
North Macedonia | 9.1 | 11.1 | 6.8 | 5–17 | 2019 | |
48 | Philippines | 9.0 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2011 [3] |
49 | Kenya | 8.5 | ... | ... | ... | 2021 [4] |
50 | Honduras | 8.4 | 12 | 4.5 | 5–17 | 2019 |
51 | Lesotho | 8.2 | 11.1 | 5.4 | 5–17 | 2018 |
52 | Myanmar | 8.1 | 8.7 | 7.5 | 5–17 | 2015 |
53 | Mongolia | 7.9 | 9.2 | 6.5 | 5–17 | 2018 |
54 | El Salvador | 7.8 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2013 [3] |
– | World | 7.9 | 9.3 | 6.4 | 5–17 | 2020 |
55 | Guatemala | 7.3 | 10.2 | 4.3 | 5–17 | 2013 |
56 | Timor-Leste | 7.2 | 7.6 | 6.8 | 5–17 | 2016 |
57 | Kiribati | 7.1 | 8.7 | 5.5 | 5–17 | 2019 |
58 | Bangladesh | 5.9 | 8.7 | 3 | 5–17 | 2019 |
59 | Rwanda | 5.9 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2014 [3] |
60 | Dominican Republic | 5.6 | 6.8 | 4.3 | 5–17 | 2014 |
61 | Ecuador | 4.9 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 5–17 | 2019 |
62 | Ukraine | 4 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 5–17 | 2015 |
63 | Armenia | 3.9 | 4.9 | 2.7 | 5–17 | 2015 |
Venezuela | 3.9 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2013 [3] | |
65 | Indonesia | 3.7 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2010 [3] |
66 | Egypt | 3.6 | 5.6 | 1.4 | 5–17 | 2014 |
67 | Suriname | 3.5 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 5–17 | 2019 |
Mexico | 3.5 | 4.5 | 2.4 | 5–17 | 2018 | |
69 | Costa Rica | 3.4 | 4 | 2.7 | 5–17 | 2018 |
Tunisia | 3.4 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2012 [3] | |
71 | Vietnam | 3.2 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 5–17 | 2018 |
72 | Iraq | 3.1 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 5–17 | 2018 |
73 | Zambia | 3 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 5–17 | 2018 |
74 | Algeria | 2.8 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 5–17 | 2013 |
75 | Jamaica | 2.7 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 5–17 | 2010 |
Albania | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.1 | 5–17 | 2016 | |
77 | Turkey | 2.6 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2006 [3] |
78 | Panama | 2.4 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 5–17 | 2012 |
Chile | 2.4 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 5–17 | 2014 | |
80 | Belarus | 2.3 | ... | ... | 7–14 | 2012 [3] |
Belize | 2.3 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 5–17 | 2013 | |
82 | Colombia | 2 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 5–17 | 2019 |
83 | Argentina | 1.8 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 5–17 | 2017 |
Georgia | 1.8 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 5–17 | 2015 | |
85 | Bhutan | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 5–17 | 2010 |
86 | Brazil | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 5–17 | 2016 |
87 | Jordan | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 5–17 | 2016 |
88 | India | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 5–17 | 2018 |
89 | Sri Lanka | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 5–17 | 2016 |
90 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 5–17 | 2011 |
91 | Sweden | ?.? | ?.? | ?.? | 0-20 | 2007 |
Region | Child labour rate in % (Ages 5–17 total) | Child labour rate in % (Ages 5–17 male) | Child labour rate in % (Ages 5–17 female) | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Africa | 18 | 20.3 | 15.6 | 2020 |
Latin America and the Caribbean | 4.3 | 5.5 | 3 | 2020 |
Northern America | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2020 |
Northern Europe | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2020 |
Eastern Europe | 4.6 | 5.2 | 4 | 2020 |
Western Europe | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2020 |
Southern Europe | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1 | 2020 |
Eastern Asia | 2.8 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 2020 |
South-Eastern Asia | 9.2 | 10.9 | 7.4 | 2020 |
Central Asia | 11.9 | 13.1 | 10.7 | 2020 |
Western Asia | 6.3 | 7.4 | 5.1 | 2020 |
Southern Asia | 4.5 | 5.8 | 2.9 | 2020 |
Pacific Islands | 7.7 | 8.8 | 6.5 | 2020 |
The economy of Cambodia currently follows an open market system and has seen rapid economic progress in the last decade. Cambodia had a gross domestic product (GDP) of $28.54 billion in 2022. Per capita income, although rapidly increasing, is low compared with most neighboring countries. Cambodia's two largest industries are textiles and tourism, while agricultural activities remain the main source of income for many Cambodians living in rural areas. The service sector is heavily concentrated on trading activities and catering-related services. Recently, Cambodia has reported that oil and natural gas reserves have been found off-shore.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the first and oldest specialized agencies of the UN. The ILO has 187 member states: 186 out of 193 UN member states plus the Cook Islands. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with around 40 field offices around the world, and employs some 3,381 staff across 107 nations, of whom 1,698 work in technical cooperation programmes and projects.
The economy of Kenya is market-based with a few state enterprises. Kenya has an emerging market and is an averagely industrialised nation ahead of its East African peers. Currently a lower middle income nation, Kenya plans to be a newly industrialised nation by 2030. The major industries driving the Kenyan economy include financial services, agriculture, real estate, manufacturing, logistics, tourism, retail and energy. As of 2020, Kenya had the third largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, behind Nigeria and South Africa. Regionally, Kenya has had a stronger and more stable economy compared to its neighboring countries within East Africa. By 2023, the country had become Africa's largest start-up hub by both funds invested and number of projects.
Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation worldwide, although these laws do not consider all work by children as child labour; exceptions include work by child artists, family duties, supervised training, and some forms of work undertaken by Amish children, as well as by Indigenous children in the Americas.
Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour, and exploitation. This definition is substantially wider than the same document's definition of "trafficking in persons". Children may also be trafficked for adoption. Not all adoption is a form of human trafficking, but illegal adoption is. Illegal adoptions violate multiple child rights norms and principles, including the best interests of the child, the principle of subsidiarity and the prohibition of improper financial gain.
Child labour in Botswana is defined as the exploitation of children through any form of work which is harmful to their physical, mental, social and moral development. Child labour in Botswana is characterised by the type of forced work at an associated age, as a result of reasons such as poverty and household-resource allocations. Child labour in Botswana is not of higher percentage according to studies. The United States Department of Labor states that due to the gaps in the national frameworks, scarce economy, and lack of initiatives, “children in Botswana engage in the worst forms of child labour”. The International Labour Organization is a body of the United Nations which engages to develop labour policies and promote social justice issues. The International Labour Organization (ILO) in convention 138 states the minimum required age for employment to act as the method for "effective abolition of child labour" through establishing minimum age requirements and policies for countries when ratified. Botswana ratified the Minimum Age Convention in 1995, establishing a national policy allowing children at least fourteen-years old to work in specified conditions. Botswana further ratified the ILO's Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, convention 182, in 2000.
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Child labour in Bangladesh is significant, with 4.7 million children aged 5 to 14 in the work force in 2002-03. Out of the child labourers engaged in the work force, 83% are employed in rural areas and 17% are employed in urban areas. Child labour can be found in agriculture, poultry breeding, fish processing, the garment sector and the leather industry, as well as in shoe production. Children are involved in jute processing, the production of candles, soap and furniture. They work in the salt industry, the production of asbestos, bitumen, tiles and ship breaking.
A significant proportion of children in India are engaged in child labour. In 2011, the national census of India found that the total number of child labourers, aged [5–14], to be at 10.12 million, out of the total of 259.64 million children in that age group. The child labour problem is not unique to India; worldwide, about 217 million children work, many full-time.
Child labour in Pakistan is the employment of children to work in Pakistan, which causes them mental, physical, moral and social harm. Child labour takes away the education from children. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated that in the 1990s, 11 million children were working in the country, half of whom were under age ten. In 1996, the median age for a child entering the work force was seven, down from eight in 1994. It was estimated that one quarter of the country's work force was made up of children. Child labor stands out as a significant issue in Pakistan, primarily driven by poverty. The prevalence of poverty in the country has compelled children to engage in labor, as it has become necessary for their families to meet their desired household income level, enabling them to afford basic necessities like butter and bread.
Child labour refers to the full-time employment of children under a minimum legal age. In 2003, an International Labour Organization (ILO) survey reported that one in every ten children in the capital above the age of seven was engaged in child domestic labour. Children who are too young to work in the fields work as scavengers. They spend their days rummaging in dumps looking for items that can be sold for money. Children also often work in the garment and textile industry, in prostitution, and in the military.
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