Top 10 Worst Countries For Child Labor

According to Maplecroft’s Child work Index, these nations are the worst of the worst, with youngsters being pushed into backbreaking work, war, and sex industries.

Despite decades of attempts to keep children from being compelled to work, child labor continues to be a major international issue. Many countries compel children to work in dangerous occupations including forestry, mining, and fighting, as well as exploiting them as beggars, domestic workers, and even for sexual purposes. Maplecroft, an international consulting firm, has developed a Child Labour Index to help identify which countries are the worst offenders when it comes to child labor. As you will see, the most terrible and widespread child labor practices today are found in Africa, Southern and Western Asia. Here are the countries where children are deemed to be at “extreme risk” of exploitative labor according to Maplecroft.

10. Somalia

9. Pakistan

According to the US Department of Labor, nearly 13% of Pakistani children, or 2,449,480 kids aged 10 to 14, are child laborers. 76% of these teenagers labor in agriculture, doing things like crop field work, fishing, and prawn harvesting and processing. A large number of teenagers work in restaurants, tea shops, transportation, and garbage collection. Pakistani youth are also engaged in the glass bangle industry, carpet weaving, coal mining, brick kilns, and vehicle manufacturing. According to the International Labor Organization, poverty is the single most important factor contributing to the country’s high rate of child labor. With 17.2% of the population living in poverty, families are sometimes forced to put their children to work to make ends meet.

8. Nigeria

Nigeria, an African country on the Gulf of Guinea, is impoverished, resulting in a high percentage of child labor inside the country. According to the International Labour Organization, almost 15 million children under the age of 14 work in the country as child laborers. Girls often begin working at an earlier age than boys and work as domestic servants in homes. Agriculture, street hawking and begging, mining and construction, shoe shining, car washing, auto servicing, driving minibuses, and a range of other activities are also available to boys and girls. In Nigeria, child labor is an important source of income for a kid’s family. Many youngsters who work miss school, drop out, and are subjected to exploitation and starvation and face various forms of adverse situations.

7. Myanmar

Around 1.5 million school-age children between the ages of 10 and 17 are compelled to work as laborers in Myanmar. The agricultural industry employs the most children in the country, although youngsters are also employed in construction and small-scale enterprises. Poverty is seen as the primary motivator for youngsters to enter the labor field in order to complement the country’s poor home income.

6. Liberia

According to the US Department of Labor, 358,179 Liberian youngsters are employed. This represents more than 30% of the total child population in the nation. Many of these teenagers work in agriculture, where they are exposed to hazardous chemicals and engage in dangerous activities. Minors have been exposed to this form of labor due to the country’s lack of labor regulations. Inadequate justice and widespread poverty have also been cited as causes.

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5. India

Up to 33 million youngsters are employed as laborers in India, the world’s second most populated country. Children in India work in mines, farms, and textile mills, among other places. Unfortunately, while the economy has grown in recent decades, not everyone has benefited equally. Despite legal restrictions, the number of child laborers has increased in recent years, particularly in the country’s major cities, where many children migrate for work.

4. Ethiopia

Despite recent government efforts, child labor is still a problem in Ethiopia. Between the ages of 7 and 14, 41.5% of the country’s population is working in some way. Only little more than half of the country’s children finish primary school. Many young people are abducted from destitute areas of the country and forced to work in sectors such as shoe shining, selling, mining, and even unpaid labor in Addis Abeba.

3. The Democratic Republic of the Congo

Children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are routinely forced to work in gold, wolframite, and coltan mines, as well as in armed conflicts in the region. In the country, 3,327,806 children work as child laborers in a variety of industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, and services. Children are routinely denied the right to attend school, notably in eastern Congo, and they are also forcibly recruited into armed formations while in school. Child sexual exploitation is common in this area. Inability to secure correct birth registration paperwork and proof of citizenship usually leads young people into labor markets, where they work hard to support their destitute family. Non-national armed organizations also employ children as slaves.

2. Chad

The majority of the work done by children in Chad is agricultural. The majority work in the informal sector. Some youngsters in the nation may be sold or trafficked against their will to work in oil-related industries. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for children to be compelled to serve as child soldiers. More than half of the country’s children is working as per UNICEF data.

1. Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, a South Asian country, children work in garment factories, farms, and various types of production. However, because their job is informal, determining the true nature of their employment is challenging. Poverty is the principal cause of underage labor in Bangladesh, as it is in all of the other countries on this list. Despite various legislation in place to protect children in Bangladesh, the country may face problems in the future owing to climate change susceptibility.