People > Child labor > Children ages 5-14 > Total number: Countries Compared

DEFINITION: This entry is derived from People > Child labor > Children ages 5-14, which gives the percent of children aged 5-14 (or the age range specified) engaged in child labor. We define “child labor” as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful to children. Such labor may deprive them of the opportunity to attend school, oblige them to leave school prematurely, or require them to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work. In its most extreme forms, child labor involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses, and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often a very early age.