Population Reference Bureau -2004

TOTAL CHILD LABOUR

In 2001, a Child Activity Survey conducted by government’s Central Statistical Office estimated that 14 percent of children ages 5 to 17 are economically active in Belize.

The US Dept. of Labor's 2003 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.

ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE POPULATION

For the year 2010, there are estimated to be 99,000 economically active people with no child of the age group 10-14 being economically active

ILO, Bureau of Statistics, Economically Active Population

970 females for 1000 males

CIA, factbook-2005 (Fig is an estimate for 2005)

CHILDREN OUT OF SCHOOL

In 2001, 1,500 children in the primary school age group of 5-10 were out of school

UNESCO's EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005

PROGRESS ON PRIMARY EDUCATION MDG

With an EDI of 0.877, Belize's progress towards achieving education for all by 2015 is medium

UNESCO's EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005

CHILD SLAVERY

Teenage girls, some of whom were trafficked from neighboring countries, worked as domestic servants, and some were rumored to work as bar maids and prostitutes.

US Dept. of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- 2004, February 2005

Belize is a transit and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of labor and sexual exploitation.

US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2005

CHILD PROSTITUTION & PRONOGRAPHY

Women and children are trafficked to Belize, mainly from Central America, to work in Belize’s growing sex industry. Girls are trafficked internally for sexual exploitation, sometimes with the consent and encouragement of their parents.

ECPAT CSEC Database,
http://www.ecpat.net/eng/
Ecpat_inter/projects/monitoring/
online_database/index.asp

No Confirmed Data

There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces. The minimum age for voluntary recruitment is 18.

CSUCS, Global Report on Child Soldiers, 2004

CHILD LABOUR IN UNORGANISED SECTOR

The agricultural industry constitutes the largest employer of child workers, followed by work in community, social, and personal services (such as domestic work), retail and repair, construction, tourism, and manufacturing.

Seventy-five percent of economically active children are found in rural regions, where they work after school, on weekends and during vacations on family plots and businesses and are involved in the citrus, banana, and sugar industries as field workers. And in urban areas, children shine shoes, sell newspapers and other small items, and work in markets.

The US Dept. of Labor's 2003 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.

n rural regions, children worked on family plots and businesses after school, on weekends, and during vacations and were involved in the citrus, banana, and sugar industries as field workers. In urban areas, children shined shoes, sold food, crafts, and other small items, and worked in markets.