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In some of the most dangerous instances of child labor, young children are forced to take up mining occupations.

Despite centuries of efforts against forcing children to enter the workforce, child labor remains a major problem internationally. In many countries, children are made to work in such dangerous jobs as logging, mining, and fighting in wars, as well as exploiting them as beggars, household servants, and even for sexual purposes. To help pinpoint which countries are the worst offenders in the realm of child labor, the international consulting firm Maplecroft has compiled a Child Labor Index to rank them. As you will see, the most horrific and widespread child labor practices today are seen in Africa and 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

39.8% of children between the ages of 5 to 14, numbering around 1,012,863, are child laborers in Somalia. Only half of children within this age range attend school. Fishing, threshing grain, and livestock raising are just some of the agricultural activities where Somali children are employed to work as labor. Construction and mining industries operating within the country also use children as part of the workforce. Children are also seen begging on the streets, hawking, and minibus conducting. Children are also engaged in armed conflicts, illegal and anti-national activities. The human trafficking of children is also not uncommon. The high rates of poverty prevailing in Somalia often force parents to surrender their children to the labor world. The education system in the country is poorly developed due to the high social, economic and political insecurity prevailing in the country.

9. Pakistan

As per the United States Department of Labor report, nearly 13% of Pakistani children accounting for 2,449,480 individuals between the ages of 10 to 14 are child laborers. 76% of these children work in the agricultural sector involving activities like working in crop fields, fishing and shrimp harvesting and processing. A large number of children are also engaged in restaurants, tea stalls, transportation, and garbage scavenging. The glass bangle industry, carpet weaving, coal mining, brick kilns, and the automotive industry also employ Pakistani children. According to ILO, poverty is the single major factor responsible for the high prevalence of child labor in the country. With 17.2% of the population living below poverty line, families are often forced to send their children to work to sustain the family.

8. Nigeria

An African country on the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria suffers from widespread poverty leading to a large number of cases of child labor within the country. According to data from International Labor Organization, over 15 million children in the country below the age of 14 are child laborers. Girls enter the labor world at an earlier age than boys and are primarily employed as domestic helps in households. Boys and girls are also engaged in agricultural work, street hawking and street begging, mining and construction work, shoe shining, car washing, auto repair, conducting minibuses, and numerous other activities. In Nigeria, child labor forms an important source of income for a child's family. Many children involved in labor miss classes in schools, drop out from schools, suffer from exploitation and malnutrition and face various forms of adverse situations.

7. Myanmar

In Myanmar, around 1.5 million school age children between the ages of 10 to 17 are forced to work as laborers. The agricultural sector in the country employs the greatest number of children while construction and small-scale industries also involve children as part of their workforce. Poverty is considered to be the prime factor leading to the involvement of children in the work-force to supplement the low household income in the country.

6. Liberia

According to the US Department of Labor, 358,179 children in Liberia work. This represents over 30% of the country's total child population. Many of these children are involved in jobs in agriculture that leaves them exposed to hazardous chemicals and dangerous activities. The country's lack of labor laws have been blamed for making children vulnerable to these kinds of labor. An insufficient justice system and widespread poverty have also been blamed.

5. India

India, the world's second most populated country, has as many as 33 million child laborers. Some of the places that children in India work include in mines, on farms, and in garment factories. Unfortunately, although the economy has grown over the past several decades, not everyone in the population has benefited evenly. Despite legislative efforts, the number of child workers has increased over recent years, particularly in the country's major cities, where many children move to for work.

4. Ethiopia

Despite more and more recent government efforts, underage working remains a problem in Ethiopia. 41.5% of the country's population that is aged between 7 and 14 is employed in some form of work. Just over half of the country's children ever finish primary school. Many children are brought from underdeveloped regions of the country into Addis Ababa where they are forced into areas of work such as shoe shining, vending, mining, and even unpaid labor.

3. The Democratic Republic of the Congo

Children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are often forced to work in gold, wolframite, and coltan mines, as well as being engaged in the armed conflicts prevalent in the region. 3,327,806 children in the country are child laborers working in various sectors like agriculture, industry and services. Children are often hindered from going to school, especially in eastern Congo, and they are also forcibly recruited into armed forces while attending schools. Sexual exploitation of children is also common here. Inability to provide valid birth registration certificates and proof of citizenship often leaves children no choice but to enter the labor markets, toiling hard to make money for their poor families. Use of children as slaves is also practiced by the non-national armed groups.

2. Chad

Most of the work that children are engaged in in Chad is agricultural. Most are employed in the informal sector. Some children in the country may be sold or trafficked against their will to work in areas of the country related to oil production. Sadly, it is not unheard of for children to be forced to be child soldiers. More than half of the country's children is working as per UNICEF data.

1. Bangladesh

In the South Asian country of Bangladesh, children work in garment factories, farming, and in various types of manufacturing. However, the exact nature of their employment is hard to track as it is informal. Like all of the other countries on this list, poverty is the main cause of underaged work in Bangladesh. Despite there being some legislation in place in Bangladesh to protect children, the country will have challenges ahead as it is very susceptible to climate change.

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Maplecroft's Child Labor Index has pinpointed these countries as being the worst of the worst, with children being forced into backbreaking labor and war.

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Your Smartphone Was Made By Child Slave Labor - Congo Cobalt Mines

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Background information on Child Labor

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Child labour is a violation of fundamental human rights and has been shown to hinder children's development, potentially leading to lifelong physical or psychological damage. Child labour refers to work that is harmful to children's physical and mental development and includes work that:

is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children, and

interferes with their schooling:

by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;

by making them leave school prematurely; or

by requiring them to go to school as well as doing heavy work or working long hours.

In the worst cases, child labour can make children slaves, separate them from their families, expose them to serious dangers and illnesses and/or leave them to look after themselves on the streets of large cities - often at a very early age.

Find out more about child labour in the Taking action and useful resources section.

What is not child labour?

Not all work done by children however can be classified as child labour. When children or adolescents participate in stimulating activities, volunteering or work that does not affect their health and personal development, or interfere with their education, this is generally seen as being positive. For example, activities such as helping parents around the home or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays.

Some basic facts:

There are over 218 million child labourers in the world

Around 126 million children are engaged in hazardous work

You can make a difference by raising awareness and understanding the issue!

What is the International Labour Organization (ILO)?

Created in 1919, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reflects the belief that universal and lasting peace can only be accomplished if it is based on social justice. The ILO is the global body responsible for drawing up international labour standards (ILS), whose aim it is to ensure that economic development goes hand in hand with the creation of jobs and working conditions in which people can work in freedom, safety and dignity.

The ILO aims to ensure that it serves the needs of working women and men by bringing together governments, employers and workers to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes. Its tripartite structure makes the ILO unique among world organizations because employers' and workers' organizations have an equal voice with governments in all its deliberations.

The ILO supervisory bodies are responsible for overseeing the application of all ILS, including those concerning child labour. for more information on ILS and ILO supervisory bodies.

Conventions, which are one form of ILS, are drawn up by governments, employers' and workers' organizations, and are adopted at the annual International Labour Conference in June.

The elimination of child labour has always been central to the aims of the ILO. In fact the first international standard to regulate child labour was adopted in 1919. From this time onwards, ten child labour standards have been adopted and a Minimum Age Convention (No. 138) was drawn up in 1973. In 1999 the ILO adopted Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour, which is discussed in more detail throughout this resource.

Established in 1992, the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) is the ILO's biggest technical cooperation programme.

IPEC works towards the elimination of child labour, taking action throughout the world to improve the situation of child labourers every day. Thanks to IPEC's efforts, hundreds of thousands of children have been taken out of work and given better opportunities or have been prevented from having to work.

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Background information on child labour and ILO

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Child labour is a violation of fundamental human rights and has been shown to hinder children's development, potentially leading to lifelong physical or psychological damage.

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Humanitarians, activists and social entrepreneurs, brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger believe that together, WE can change the world. Over 20 years ago, they set out on a bold mission: to work with developing communities to free children and their families from poverty and exploitation.

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In the mid-1990's, a bright young youth made a global impact on child slavery. Iqbal Masih's life was cut short just shy of 13 years but his powerful and eloquent speeches encouraged thousands of bonded laborers and child slaves to follow his example. He brought awareness and promoted education so that others could stand up for their rights and end the injustice in sweatshops around the world.

In 1983, Iqbal Masih was born in the poor community of Muridke outside of Lahore, Pakistan. His family was financially burdened, and his father Saif Masih decided to leave when Iqbal was young. When he was 4 years old, Iqbal's mother Inayat needed funds to pay for his older brother's wedding. Because the family was already in debt, she took out a loan in Iqbal's name from a local businessman. However, when their debt went unpaid for two years she was forced to "loan" Iqbal as a laborer to pay off the debt.

Iqbal became one of the many child bonded laborers at the carpet factory. Despite working 14 hour days six days a week, Iqbal never earned enough money to pay off the debt, the cost of his "apprenticeship", his tools, his food, fines for his mistakes or the rising interest. Though considered "debt-bonded" he was really like millions of other children who were enslaved to their employers without hope of earning their freedom. Bonded labor, child labor, and slave labor were all outlawed in Pakistan. However, it ran rampant due to a corrupt government and a police force that was living off the bribes of local businessmen.

"Children should have pens in their hands not tools" - Iqbal Masih

When Iqbal was 10 years old he made up his mind to escape. He had endured hot, cramped conditions, air filled with wool debris and countless whippings, beatings, and cuttings whenever his work slowed. Though stunted by malnutrition and weakened by lack of exercise, Iqbal and a few of his friends escaped. He ran to the local police and explained how the employer was beating the children and keeping them as slaves. Unfortunately, the police officer was more willing to receive the "finder's fee" for escaped slaves and returned Iqbal to Arshad, Iqbal's owner. At the direction of the police officer, Iqbal was chained to the carpet machine and Arshad forced him back to work with a combination of physical abuse and starvation.

At the age of 12, Iqbal found a way to attend a freedom day celebration held by the Brick Layer Unions. There, Iqbal heard about his rights as a laborer and that debt slavery was outlawed a few years before. In addition to the law against slavery, the government had canceled all debts with businesses so they could, in turn, free those indebted to them. However, very few businesses actually released their slaves. When others were asked to speak before the crowd Iqbal volunteered. After hearing Iqbal's story, one of the union leaders named Ehsan Ullah Khan organized an effort to free Iqbal from bondage. After much convincing about the illegality of his factory, Arshad freed Iqbal and some of the other child slaves.

The 12-year-old Iqbal became a prominent leader of the anti-slave movement in Pakistan. He attended the Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) School for former child slaves and quickly completed a four-year education in only two years. As his understanding of labor laws and human rights grew, he began using his energetic personality to speak on behalf of the enslaved workers. He would sneak into factories and begin asking the children about their experiences and if they were slaves. Even though this was an incredibly risky job, his malnourished body and stunted growth made him appear to be only around six years old so he was rarely perceived as a threat.

The BLLF sent him to speak at businesses and demonstrations all over Pakistan where bonded slavery was known to exist. With his powerful personality, he educated the slave laborers and encouraged them to escape. Despite death threats from the organized business mafias that dominated the communities, Iqbal continued to speak against their practices with confidence and eloquence. It is estimated that over 3,000 Pakistani Children escaped their owners after visiting rallies, hearing speeches and attending meetings put on by the BLLF that year.

Because of his powerful story, Iqbal Masih began visiting other countries, raising awareness of child slaves and advocating for their freedom. Everywhere he went he inspired others (especially children) to become involved in the mission to end child slavery.

"I would like to do what Abraham Lincoln did... I would like to do it in Pakistan" -Iqbal Masih

After a visit to speak in the United States in December of 1994, Iqbal returned home to Pakistan. He would spend his last few months of life attending school in hopes of becoming a lawyer to fight on behalf of bonded laborers.

On Palm Sunday, (the 16th of April, 1995) Iqbal was assassinated after being shot in the back with a 12 gauge shotgun. He was riding home on a bicycle with some friends after attending mass earlier in the day.

The official police report claims that it was an accidental firing by a local farmer named Ashraf Hero. They claimed he confessed to the accident after hours of being tortured. Because Iqbal was a prominent enemy of the local Carpet Manufacturer Mafia, The Pakistani Human Rights Commission looked into the murder but quickly agreed with the police story. Despite the official report, most everyone believes that Iqbal Masih was assassinated by an agent of the Carpet Manufacturer Mafia who already held influence over the police and that Ashraf Hero was framed for the murder.

Iqbal Masih is our hero because he took courageous action on behalf of child slaves and bonded laborers in Pakistan and around the world. Despite his short life, his passionate and powerful message encouraged thousands to seek freedom and inspired many more around the world to join in his efforts. There are still an estimated 75,000 slaves in Pakistan Today. One organization, Free the Children was started by a Canadian youth named Craig Kielburger who had heard about Iqbal's story and wanted to help make a difference.

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In the mid-1990's, a bright young youth made a global impact on child slavery. Iqbal Masih's life was cut short just shy of 13 years but his powerful and eloquent speeches encouraged thousands of bonded laborers and child slaves to follow his example. He brought awareness and promoted education...

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There are millions of people taking action with Free The Children to create a better world. Join us! Visit www.freethechildren.com

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Iqbal Masih, Pakistan, received The World's Children's Honorary Award 2000 posthumously, for his struggle for the rights of debt slave children. Iqbal became a debt slave at an early age, for the owner of a carpet factory who then sold him on.