A recent report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that the south-east region of Nigeria has the highest prevalence of children involved in child labour, with 49.9% of children aged 5 to 17 engaged in economic activities.
The report, based on the Nigeria Child Labour and Forced Labour Survey 2022, also indicates that 50.5% of all children in this age group in Nigeria, totaling 31.7 million, are involved in some form of economic activity.
Furthermore, the report highlights that 39.2% of children, accounting for 24.6 million, are in child labour, and 22.9% of children, totaling 14.3 million, are involved in hazardous work.
“The North West geopolitical zone has the highest number of children in child labour, with 6.4 million, and in hazardous work, with 3.2 million. “However in terms of the percentage of children in child labour and hazardous work, the south-east region has the highest prevalence of children involved in child labour with 49. 9 per cent,” it stated.
The report attributes the prevalence of child labour to factors such as the educational level, sex, and income of the household head. It emphasizes the need to address these underlying factors to effectively combat child labour in the country.
