1.7 million children and youth in Myanmar go to work instead of school
Child labour
A boy works, unloading stones from a boat in Dala, Myanmar
One in fivechildren aged 10 to 17 in Myanmar go to work instead of school,according to figures from a census report on employment.
The Occupation and Industry report – part of Myanmar’s 2014census – shows about 1.7 million children between 10 and 17years of age are working.
“Today, one in five children aged 10 to 17 are missing out onthe education that can help them get good jobs and haveemployment security when they grow up,” Janet E. Jackson, (UNFPA) representative for Myanmar, saidin a statement yesterday.
Many parts of rural Myanmar are mired in poverty and onemillion people are estimated to be in need of humanitarian aiddue to natural disasters and internal conflict which have drivenhundreds of thousands from their homes, according to the UnitedNations.
The 2014 nationwide census – Myanmar’s first in 30 years –was criticised for excluding the country’s Muslim Rohingyaminorities, who suffer state-sanctioned discrimination.
Most of 1.1 million Rohingya are stateless and live inapartheid-like conditions in the western state of Rakhine.
The main results of the census were released in May 2015and showed Myanmar’s population stood at 51.4 million – a figurethat includes an estimate of the Rohingya population based onpre-census mapping in Rakhine state, according to UNFPA.
The employment data highlighted a gender gap in the labourmarket, with about half of women aged 15 to 64 working orlooking for a job, compared to 85% of men.
The report indicated 52% ofMyanmar’s population is working in the agriculture, forestry orfishing sectors.
Data from other sources show deep poverty in the country.Only a third of Myanmar’s households have electric light,the infant mortality rate is 62 per 100,000 live births andlife expectancy stands at 66.8 years compared to neighbouringThailand’s 74 years, according to the World Bank.
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