4. Bangladesh
Orphan population: 4.8 million
In the most densely populated country in the world, Bangladesh, one-third of all children are parentless or at risk of losing parents. Children who lose parents are placed in overcrowded orphanages where they don’t receive needed care and where they are forced to work to survive. Despite the fact that law prohibits children younger than 14 to work, 5 million Bangladesh’s children work in dangerous conditions for minimal wages. Child domestic workers are especially vulnerable as they often experience physical abuse from their employers. Moreover, the number of children living on streets is increasing. As in Brazil, street children in Bangladesh are struggling to survive in harsh conditions surrounded by everyday violence.
