Table 1. Estimates of Children in Economic Activity, Child Labor, and Hazardous Work, 2000 (in thousands) Source: ILO, Every Child Counts: New Global Estimates on Child Labor Table 2. Estimated Number of Children in Worst Forms of ChildLabor, 2000 (in thousands) Source: ILO, Every Child Counts: New Global Estimates on Child Labor According to ILO estimates, the largest number of child workers under 14 years old are in theAsia-Pacific region. However, Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to have the highest proportion ofworking children, with nearly 30% of its children engaged in some form of economic activity. Aboutone in three children below the age of 15 is economically active in the region. (6) The child work ratiosin other major world regions are all projected to be below 20 percent. (7) Furthermore, every fourthchild in sub-Saharan Africa appears to start work before the age of 10. (8) Africa's relatively highpoverty rate, as well as its relatively high proportion of individuals both residing and employed inrural areas, may contribute to the large number of children at work. According to a World Bankreport, child labor participation rates are much higher in rural than in urban areas, and three-quartersof working children work in family enterprises. (9) Thereport further emphasizes that child labor is,and will continue to be, common in a large number of countries until poverty is substantiallyreduced. The ILO estimates that nearly half (48.5%) of all economically active children were engaged in hazardous work, which it defines as "any activity or occupation which, by its nature or type has, orleads to adverse effects on the child's safety, health and moral development". (10) Much agriculturalwork is included in this category because it may involve the use of heavy machinery or exposure topesticides. An ILO report concluded that 55% of children below 12 years of age were working ina hazardous occupation or situation in 2000. Children between 12 years old and 14 years old werethe largest age group working in a hazardous occupation or situation. Sixty-six percent of all childlaborers aged 12 through 14 were reported to be engaged in hazardous work. (11) The ILO chart below delineates the activity of those engaged in child labor, who comprise nearly 70% of all economically active children. An overwhelming majority (69.5%) of these child laborersis engaged in hazardous work. The deceptively small percentage of child laborers (3.4%) engagedin the "worst forms of child labor" represents 8.4 million children. The remaining 27% of the childlaborers were not working in either hazardous conditions or the worst forms of child labor, but theywere still engaged in forms of child labor which, according to the ILO, "must be abolished." (12) Source: ILO, Every Child Counts: New Global Estimates on Child Labor. A significant number of children (8.4 million) were estimated to be involved in the "unconditional worst forms of child labor," which includes prostitution and pornography, trafficking,forced and bonded labor, armed conflict, and other illicit activities. (13) Of the 8.4 million ensnaredin the worst forms of child labor a great majority (5.7 million) were either in forced or bonded labor,with another 1.8 million engaged in prostitution or pornography. The ILO estimates that some 1.2million children were trafficked in 2000, while 600,000 were engaged in illicit activities and 300,000participated in armed conflict. Most child soldiers were found in Africa and the Asia-Pacificregion. (14) The chart below shows the distributionof children engaged in the worst forms of childlabor. Source: Every Child Counts: New Global Estimates on ChildLabor Global efforts to eliminate child labor have been complicated by a range of factors, including poverty, lack of access to education, soaring HIV/AIDS rates, and the ability to conceal the use ofchild labor. Historically, poverty and child labor are inextricably linked. Families in many countriesrely on the income from children to cover basic needs. A World Bank report found that countrieswith per capita income of $500 or less (at 1987 prices) have labor force participation rates of30%-60% for children aged 10-14 years. In contrast, wealthier developing countries, with incomesbetween $500 and $1,000, have lower child labor participation rates at 10%-30% for the same agegroup. (15) As children work to contribute to their families' short-term needs the cycle of poverty continues. Child labor hinders economic development and perpetuates poverty by keeping the children of thepoor out of school, limiting their prospects for upward social mobility, and preventing them fromgaining the education and skills that would enable them as adults to increase their contributions toeconomic growth and prosperity. (16) Some havesuggested that child labor suppresses wages, becauseit increases the total labor supply. A recent article from the Journal of International Affairs arguesthat if child labor is left to proliferate, adult labor could be threatened. "[I]n the same measure asfemales replaced men as factory workers, so child labor, if not restricted, will crowd a proportionatenumber of adults out of employment." (17) Children working in export industries (such as textiles, clothing, carpets and footwear) have been featured on news stories causing international uproar. An NBC Dateline report recently highlightedthe grim side of child labor in a story aired on June 23, 2002. The news story entitled, Slaves toFashion; Child labor and abuse in Indian silk factories , showed children working in dirty,sweltering factories with blaring music (to fight fatigue), no running water, no toilets, and no placeto rest. It reported that these children lived and worked in factories whose internal temperature oftenexceeded 100 degrees, and which remained locked with armed guards barring entrance or exit. Manyof the factories were in back alleys, accessible only to those that worked in them. Hidden camerasshowed children picking silk out of boiling pots with their bare hands, standing at machinespurposely built for them, and cowering as abusive employers liberally hit or threatened them. Research has indicated that children more often work in small subcontracting shops, like these, orhomework situations rather than in large-scale, formal factories. (18) An important part of the story was a segment that showed the difficulty in monitoring and tracking goods produced with child labor. An undercover news reporter held an extensive interviewwith a silk exporter who admitted that her company routinely sends its silk to Italy to receive anItalian label, minimizing the likelihood that her company would be scrutinized for child laborpractices, and guaranteeing a higher price for the goods. (19) This practice reveals the difficulty in abolishing child labor as companies continue to discover ways to circumvent monitoring systems. The Dateline story raised awareness about some aspects of child labor. However, the ILO has found that child workers in export industries are relatively few compared to those employed inactivities geared to domestic consumption. It is estimated that fewer than 5% of child laborers areemployed in the export manufacturing or mining sectors, and only 1-2% are employed inexport-oriented agriculture. (20) This reinforces theargument that child labor needs to be addressed atthe national and local levels. Surveys have revealed that the majority of children who work (70%) are engaged in agriculture, with less than 9% involved in manufacturing, trade and restaurant work. Only 6.5% were found tobe engaged in social and personal services, including domestic work. Some 4% worked in transport,storage and communications, and 3% were found to be involved in construction, mining andquarrying. (21) Not only were most children foundto be engaged in agricultural work, but most childrenwere also found in the informal sector. This means that children will be less likely found in highlyorganized commercial plantations. Nonetheless, children are still a significant portion of thecommercial agricultural workforce, because the large plantations often subcontract to small-scalefamily farms that may use child labor. Studies in Brazil, Kenya and Mexico have shown thatchildren under 15 make up between 25% and 30% of the total labor force in production of variouscommodities. (22) The common practice ofsubcontracting is mirrored in manufacturing and a host ofother industries, underscoring the importance of developing national programs that address poverty,access to basic education, and include child labor initiatives in national labor legislation. Child labor has become even more difficult to eliminate with the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS increases the number of child orphans and street children, inhibits children's ability toregularly attend school, makes children more vulnerable to sexual abuse and prostitution, andultimately elevates the demand for child labor. HIV/AIDS has already increased the number of child orphans. Before HIV/AIDS, about 2% of children in the developing world were orphans; by the end of the 1990s about 10% of children wereorphans in some countries. An estimated 13 million children have lost their mothers or both parentsto HIV/AIDS; and 27 million children are expected to be affected by HIV/AIDS by 2010. If childrenup to 18 years are considered (children up to 15 years old are traditionally considered orphans), 50million children will be affected by HIV/AIDS by 2010. Globally, at least 90% of those orphanedthrough HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. (23) Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS often have less access to education. Research has shown that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS are more likely to be out of school than those orphaned for otherreasons.