A child engaged in economic activity (UNICEF)
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed that over 75,000 children aged between five to nine years of age were engaged in economic activities during the seven days preceding the Population and Housing Census (PHC) Night in 2021.
The statistics, which was released on the 2023 World Day against Child Labour, also showed that 419,254 children aged 5 to 17 years were engaged in economic activities during the 2021 PHC.
It also added that 76,439 children aged five to nine years, 153,189 aged 10 to 14 years, and 189,626 aged 15 to 17 years were also engaged in economic activities during the 2021 PHC.
The report explained that children aged 5 to 17 years worked on average 29.2 hours in the seven days preceding Census Night while children aged 15 to 17 years worked an average of 35.2 hours.
Children aged 10 to 14 years worked an average of 26.5 hours which is about five hours per weekday, and children aged five to nine years worked an average of 19.8 hours amounting to about four hours per weekday.
It stated that children engaged as paid apprentices worked the highest number of hours, which on average was 48.4 hours, almost twice that of those engaged as contributing family workers who worked the lowest hours which on average was 25.0 hours.
Nationally, 153,773 children aged 5 to 17 years who engaged in economic activity had never attended school. Out of this number, 37,963 children were five to nine years. In all, 94,748 children aged 5 to 17 years engaged in economic activity were also attending school during the census.
The release added that eight in every 10 children aged five to nine years who were engaged in economic activity lived in the Northern region, amounting to 19,727 children, Oti region with 14,875, North East region with 8,073, Upper West adding 7,071, Savannah region with 6,525, and Upper East region with 5,851.
Nkwanta North, with a total of 9,707, Krachi Nchumuru with 7,598 and Nanumba North Municipal with 7,598 had the highest number of children 5 to 14 years engaged in economic activities. These three districts had 21,726 children representing 10.8 per cent of all children 5 to 14 years engaged in economic activities.
In all, 30 out of the 261 districts had more than 10 per cent of children 5 to 14 years engaged in economic activity. The district with the highest percentage was Krachi Nchumuru, where one in every three children amounting to 34.8 per cent was engaged in economic activity. The percentage in this district was about 10 times the national average of 3.2 per cent.
Nkwanta North, with 27.8 per cent and Yunyoo Nasuan, with 25.3 per cent were the two other districts where over a quarter of children were engaged in economic activity.
By Abigail Atinuke Seyram Adeyemi