This article is not easy to read but raising awareness is crucial in solving the problems, therefore we bring you the list of countries that have the most child labor. Doing research for this article was nothing but easy, putting aside emotions and focusing on facts was challenging. For some facts and information, we turned to International Labor Organization (ILO), created in 1992, which is now one of the biggest organizations dedicated to child labor.
Even though the global number of children in child labor has declined since 2000 according to statistics by ILO, the horrific numbers are still shocking, somewhere around 85 million of children are put to dangerous work. “Child labor among girls fell by 40% since 2000, compared to 25% for boys” (ILO). However, even though the child labor among girls has decreased we must not forget about the present issue of child marriage. Pushing young children (or even adults) into forced marriages is nothing but terrorizing someone’s identity, pushing them over the edge. According to Human Rights Watch Report, one in nine girls marries before turning 15.
By ignoring the present issues, we are letting down our children and therefore, our future. It is important to stay awake and informed, so please after you finish reading this article, take a look at another great article – 11 Countries with the Highest Rates of Human Trafficking in the World. The best way to fight the problem of basic human rights is to be informed and use that as a weapon, and not the violence. We must take in consideration that not every work done by children has to be classified as a “child labor” – children who help their parents to earn their pocket money are not considered dangerous since it doesn’t affect their school activities, furthermore doing small housework can teach them to be responsible. For example, the first such “job” that comes to our mind can be when a child is in charge for his/her pet, feeding the dog, walking them, etc. ILO defines child labor as a work that deprives children of their childhood, suppressing their potential, not to mention jobs putting children at risk of physical injuries and sexual harassment. In some extreme cases, children are separated from their family at an early age, leaving them to carry on for themselves on the streets. There are different causes of child labor, the poorer the country, the bigger the chance for child labor.
In order to create the list of countries that have the most child labor we turned to last ILO’s World Report on Child Labour 2015: Paving the way to decent work for young people. There are different charts showing us the latest data on this matter, however we focused on the chart: Percentage of employed adolescents aged 15 to 17 years in hazardous work, by country. Let’s see the results.
