Worst Forms of Child Labour Data

Nepal Region Asia and the Pacific
Population 23,385,000
Population under 18 11,258,000
Total Child Labour

NATIONAL STATISTICS

* Statistics shows that of about 7 million children between 5-14 years old working in Nepal, about 3 million are found to be regularly working and 1.7 million children are found to be economically active. ("Nepal, ILO Sign Agreement to Eliminate Child Labor", Xinhua: Comtex, 8/9/2000)

* For the year 2000, the ILO projects that there will be 1,277,000 economically active children, 553,000 girls and 724,000 boys between the ages of 10-14, representing 42.07% of this age group. (ILO, International Labour Office - Bureau of Statistics, Economically Active Population 1950-2010, STAT Working Paper, ILO 1997)

* Almost two fifths children of school-going age are economically active. (ILO-IPEC, Child Bonded Labour: Nepal, September 1999)

* The number of child labourers is estimated at around 2,060,000 where about, 94.7% are involved in agriculture and household work and the remaining 5% are engaged in service and manufacturing industries. For every 100 children in the 6-14 years age group, 4-5 are engaged in paid work. (ILO-IPEC, Country Paper: Nepal, September 1999)

* CWCD in 1998 found that 71% of rural, 52% of urban and 63% of Kamaiya children are economically active. (National Plan of Action Against Child Bonded Labour, Nepal)

* According to the ILO-sponsored national survey, of the 6.2 million children between the ages of 5-14 years, 2,596,000 are child workers, which forms 41.7% of this age group. (US Dept of Labor, Sweat and Toil of Children: Efforts to Eliminate Child Labour, 1998)

* Of 2.59 million working children, 278,000 or 4.5% of all Nepali children are in paid work and 1.38 million or 22.2% of all children are in unpaid work. (Central Department of Population Studies of Tribhuvan University and ILO-IPEC, Child Labour Situation in Nepal, October 1998)

* Of all children aged 10-14 years, about 40.8% are economically active. The corresponding figure for the 5-9 age group is 12.5%. (Central Department of Population Studies and ILO-IPEC, Child Labour Situation in Nepal, October 1998)

* About 1.7 million children in Nepal are estimated to be involved in economic activities. (Central Department of Population Studies and ILO-IPEC, Child Labour Situation in Nepal, October 1998)

* About 70% of the economically active children are between 10-14 years old. (Central Department of Population Studies and ILO-IPEC, Child Labour Situation in Nepal, October 1998)

* About 95% (1.58 million) of the economically active children in rural areas perform agriculture related work, in comparison to 78.5% in urban areas. Some 1.6% (27,000) of economically active children work as service workers. 5.3% (87,000) are involved in non-agricultural work. 1.6% (26,000) are in construction, transportation and communication. Children who work as general technical workers constitute 0.8% (14,000). Another 0.8% work as production workers and 0.4% as sales workers. (Central Department of Population Studies and ILO-IPEC, Child Labour Situation in Nepal, October 1998)

* According to Tribhuvan University estimates there were 261,000 children working for wages in Nepal in 1997. (ILO-IPEC, Child Bonded Labour: Nepal, September 1999)

* According to recent statistics availed by CBS (1996), of total wage earners in the country, about 4% belong to the 10-14 age group. (National Plan of Action Against Child Bonded Labour, Nepal)

* Of Nepal's 2,596,000 working children between the ages of 5-14 years, 2,407,000 are non-migrant and 162,000 are migrant. (ILO-SIMPOC, Migration of Working Children in Nepal, December 1997, citing Report from Migration and Employment Survey, 1995-1996)

* It is estimated that migrant child labourers, those who moved due to economic reasons and those who moved due to non-economic reasons but were working in economic activities before and after migration, number about 120,000, of which 68,000 were boys and 51,000 girls. Of the total children aged 5-17 years, migrant child labourers constituted 1.58%. The corresponding proportions for male and female are 1.77 and 1.39% respectively. (ILO-SIMPOC, Migration of Working Children in Nepal, December 1997, citing Report from Migration and Employment Survey, 1995-1996)

* Rural areas overwhelmingly dominate urban areas in terms of migrations of child labourers who move for economic reasons. Of the 80,000 migrant child labourers who migrated for economic reasons, 76,000 (1.12% of all children) moved from rural areas and 3,000 (0.048% of all children) moved from urban areas. (ILO-SIMPOC, Migration of Working Children in Nepal, December 1997, citing Report from Migration and Employment Survey, 1995-1996)

* In 1995, there were 1,200,000 economically active children, 521,000 girls and 678,000 boys between the ages of 10-14, representing 45.21% of this age group. (ILO, International Labour Office - Bureau of Statistics, Economically Active Population 1950-2010, STAT Working Paper, ILO 1997)

* Based on the 1991 Census, there were 531,835 economically active children between 10-14 years of age, or 22.85% of the total age group. (ILO-IPEC, Country Report: Nepal, October 1998, citing the 1991 Census)

LOCAL STATISTICS

* According to a study by CWIN, about 62,000 children are working in urban areas among whom 20,000 are in Kathmandu Valley. 50% of these child workers are below 14 years. (ILO-IPEC, Country Paper: Nepal, September 1999)

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

* Up to half of all children work, mostly in agriculture. (EI, EI Barometer on Human and Trade Union Rights in the Education Sector, 1998)

* 473,492 children between 10-14 years working in the agricultural sector. (ILO-IPEC, Trafficking in Children and their Exploitation in Prostitution in Nepal)

Child Slavery

NATIONAL STATISTICS

* The number of bonded children is estimated as 33,000. (ILO-IPEC, Child Bonded Labour: Nepal, September 1999)

* 40,000 children are estimated to be in debt-bondage. (ILO-IPEC, Country Report: Nepal, October 1998, citing CWIN)

* 40,000 Nepalese girls under 16 in Indian brothels are forced into prostitution. (Penelope Saunders, "Sexual Trafficking and Forced Prostitution of Children", 29 October 1998)

* More than 9,000 girls are trafficked each year from Nepal and Bangladesh into bondage in India and Pakistan, often with the acquiescence or cooperation of state officials. (CATW Fact Book, citing Amnesty International press release, 22 April 1998)

* It is estimated that at least 1 million children in Nepal are working as child labourers in difficult circumstances, often as slaves in carpet factories, brick kilns, domestic service, agriculture, plantation, construction, transportation, stone quarry, mines and as migrant workers. (CWIN, Gauri Pradhan, State of the Rights of the Child in Nepal, 1998)

* Available data suggests that approximately 7,000 girls between 10 -18 are lured or abducted into prostitution each year. In many cases, parents or relatives sell young girls into sexual slavery. (EI, EI Barometer on Human and Trade Union Rights in the Education Sector, 1998)

* Among the Kamaiya families the number of children working under the system is reported to be about 13,000. (National Plan of Action Against Child Bonded Labour, Nepal)

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

* Children are bound to work in brick kilns, carpet or garment factories. (ILO-IPEC, Country Paper: Nepal, September 1999)

* The system of bonded labour (Kamaiya) is predominant in four districts of western Nepal. (ILO-IPEC, Country Paper: Nepal, September 1999)

* The Kamaiya system has recently been abolished. (GMIS, 1 November 2000)

* Forced child labour exists in many sectors of the economy. (EI, EI Barometer on Human and Trade Union Rights in the Education Sector, 1998)

* Children employed in carpet factories in India are believed to be working under slave like conditions. Nepalese children who have experience in weaving Nepalese carpets are in demand in India. (CWA, Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN), "Nepal-India Cross Border Child Labour Migration", Child Workers in Asia, Vol. 13, Nos. 2 & 3, April - September 1997)

Child Trafficking

NATIONAL STATISTICS

* The study findings estimated that 12,000 children are trafficked every year from Nepal. (ILO-IPEC, Bal Kumar KC et all, Nepal, Trafficking in Girls with Special Reference to Prostitution: A Rapid Assessment, Geneva, November 2001)

* The trafficking of children is a considerable problem. While accurate numbers are not available, it is estimated that 5000-7000 Nepalese girls are annually trafficked out of Nepal to India, and increasingly, to the Gulf States for prostitution purposes.(ECPAT, CSEC Database, http://www.ecpat.net/eng/ecpat_inter/projects/monitoring/online_database/index.asp)

* As an illustration, it is believed that 200,000 of the prostitutes in India are Nepalese. 20% are thought to be under 16. (ECPAT, CSEC Database, http://www.ecpat.net/eng/ecpat_inter/projects/monitoring/online_database/index.asp)

* A survey by the Central Social Welfare Board indicated that the population of Nepalese women and child victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Indian brothels would be between 70,000 to 100,000 of which 30% were below 18. (ILO-IPEC, Country Report: Nepal, October 1998)

* The number of Nepalese girls and women engaged in prostitution in Calcutta exceeds 27,000, in Delhi it is more than 21,000, in Gorakhpur it is 4,700 and in Banaras it is 3,480. (ILO-IPEC, Country Report: Nepal, October 1998)

* In Bombay, India, at least half of the city's 100,000 prostitutes are believed to be Nepalese girls. (ILO-IPEC, Country Report: Nepal, October 1998)

* More than 9,000 girls are trafficked each year from Nepal and Bangladesh into bondage in India and Pakistan, often with the acquiescence or cooperation of state officials. (CATW Fact Book, citing Amnesty International press release, 22 April 1998)

  * Half of 100,000 girl prostitutes between 10-14 in Bombay are from Nepal and are kept in brothels against their will. (Penelope Saunders, "Sexual Trafficking and Forced Prostitution of Children", 29 October 1998)

* CWIN's studies have revealed that Nepalese children are involved in different labour sectors in India. Most prominent is the carpet industry. CWIN estimates that there are 5,000-7,000 children working in Bhadohi and Mirzapur in Benaras district bordering Nepal. (CWA, Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN), "Nepal-India Cross Border Child Labour Migration", Child Workers in Asia, Vol. 13, Nos. 2 & 3, April - September 1997)

* 15,000 Nepalese women and 19,000 children are kidnapped, lured, trafficked and sold into different cities of India. (Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Action, The Flesh Trade Report, 1995-1996)

* An estimated 40,000 to 45,000 of these girls are in Bombay brothels and also nearly an equal number of them are in Calcutta. (Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Action, The Flesh Trade Report, 1995-1996)

* In Calcutta, in various studies conducted by the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health in 1993 estimate that 20% of the 5,000 sex workers in the Sonagachi red light area are Nepalese. (Human Rights Watch/Asia, Rape and Profit, June 1995)

ADULT STATISTICS

* 20%-30% of commercial sex workers in India have been trafficked from Nepal. (World Vision, David Westwood, Child Trafficking in Asia, 1998)

* 2.5% of prostitutes in India are Nepalese. (CATW Fact Book, citing "Devadasi System Continues to Legitimise Prostitution: The Devadasi Tradition and Prostitution", Times of India, 4 December 1997)

* Approximately 50,000, or half of the women in prostitution in Bombay, are trafficked from Nepal. (CATW Fact Book, citing Robert I. Freidman, "India's Shame: Sexual Slavery and Political Corruption Are Leading to an AIDS Catastrophe", The Nation, 8 April 1996)

* 160,000 Nepalese women are held in India's brothels. (CATW Fact Book, citing SANLAAP India, Indrani Sinha, "Paper on Globalization & Human Rights")

* 5,000 Nepalese women are trafficked into India yearly. There are now 100,000 Nepalese women in India in prostitution. (CATW-Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific, 1996)

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

* Nepal is a source country for internationally trafficked women and children. (US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, July 12, 2001)

* Poor, uneducated young women from Nepal's rural regions are trafficked to India to work as prostitutes and for bonded labour. Nepalese citizens also are trafficked to Hong Kong, Thailand, and countries in the Middle East. Government officials suspect that organised crime groups and "marriage brokers" are the primary traffickers in Nepal and state that parents and other relatives of trafficking victims are sometimes complicit. (US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, July 12, 2001)

* Nepalese girls as young as 11 years are trafficked into India to work as prostitutes.(Will Dunham, "U.S. grapples with 'modern-day slavery'", 1 September 2000, reprinted in Stop Trafficking Archive, September 2000)

* Nepalese, Bangladeshi and Pakistani women are trafficked to India, and through India they are trafficked to Eastern Europe and Saudi Arabia. (CATW Fact Book, citing Meena Oudel, Oxfam Nepal, 18 March 1998)

* Notorious in their own right for appalling working conditions, Nepalese carpet factories, where 50% of the workers are estimated to be children, are common sites of sexual exploitation by employers as well as recruitment centres for Indian brothels. (UNICEF, State of the World's Children, 1997)

* The trafficking of girls from Nepal into India for the purpose of prostitution is probably the busiest 'slave traffic' of its kind anywhere in the world. (CATW Fact Book, citing Tim McGirk, "Nepal's Lost Daughters", 27 January 1997)

* Hong Kong is the second biggest market for trafficked Nepalese women. (CATW-Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific, 1996)

* The problem of sale and trafficking of children, especially girls is rampant. (UN CRC, Concluding observations on Nepal, 1996)

* In cross-border trafficking, India is a sending, receiving and transit nation. Receiving children from Bangladesh and Nepal and sending women and children to Middle Eastern nations is a daily occurrence. (CATW Fact Book, citing SANLAAP India, Indrani Sinha, "Paper on Globalisation and Human Rights")

Child Prostitution and Pornography

NATIONAL STATISTICS

* In Nepal, between 5,000 and 7,000 girls are believed to be trafficked every year across the border to neighbouring countries. (UNICEF, Progress of Nations 2000, New York, 2000)

* About 200,000 girls are involved in prostitution. Among them, 25,000 are living in Kathmandu and the rest are supposed to be living in big cities of India. (ILO-IPEC, Country Paper: Nepal, September 1999)

  * A survey by the Central Social Welfare Board indicated that the population of Nepalese women and child victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Indian brothels would be between 70,000 to 100,000 of which 30% were below 18 years. (ILO-IPEC, Country Report: Nepal, October 1998)

  * Every year around 10,000 Nepalese girls, most between the age of nine and 16, are sold to brothels in India. (CATW Fact Book, citing Tim McGirk, "Nepal's Lost Daughters", 27 January 1997)

* 20% of 25,000 commercial sex workers are below 16 years. (ILO, Fighting Child Labour at National Level: Action in Nepal, citing UNICEF)

LOCAL STATISTICS

* Half of 100,000 girl prostitutes between 10-14 in Bombay are from Nepal and are kept in brothels against their will. (Penelope Saunders, "Sexual Trafficking and Forced Prostitution of Children", 29 October 1998)

* In Bombay, India, at least half of the city's 100,000 prostitutes are believed to be Nepalese girls. (ILO-IPEC, Country Report: Nepal, October 1998)

* According to UNICEF there are 1,000 children in the sex trade in Kathmandu. (ILO-IPEC, Country Report: Nepal, October 1998)

* A survey done in Kathmandu on 52 commercial sex workers by the Department of Research and Planning suggests that out of the total commercial sex workers surveyed, 13% were between 13-17 years. (ILO-IPEC, Country Report: Nepal, October 1998)

* The number of Nepalese girls and women engaged in prostitution in Calcutta exceeds 27,000, in Delhi it is more than 21,000, in Gorakhpur it is 4,700 and in Banaras it is 3,480. (ILO-IPEC, Country Report: Nepal, October 1998)

* Thousands of girls are trafficked to urban areas to practice prostitution. (Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Action, The Flesh Trade Report, 1995-1996)

* About 45,000 Nepalese girls are in the brothels of Bombay and 40,000 in Calcutta. (CATW Fact Book, citing UBINIG, Trafficking in Women and Children: The Cases of Bangladesh, 1995, citing women's groups in Nepal)

ADULT STATISTICS

* 20%-30% of commercial sex workers in India have been trafficked from Nepal. (World Vision, David Westwood, Child Trafficking in Asia, 1998)

* 2.5% of prostitutes in India are Nepalese. (CATW Fact Book, citing "Devadasi System Continues to Legitimise Prostitution: The Devadasi Tradition and Prostitution", Times of India, 4 December 1997)

* 7,000 Nepalese women and girls are trafficked for prostitution to the Asia Pacific area. (CATW Fact Book, citing CATW-Asia Pacific and Philippine Women's Groups, 4th International Congress on AIDS in the Asia Pacific, 29 October 1997)

* Approximately 50,000, or half of the women in prostitution in Bombay, are trafficked from Nepal. (CATW Fact Book, citing Robert I. Freidman, "India's Shame: Sexual Slavery and Political Corruption Are Leading to an AIDS Catastrophe", The Nation, 8 April 1996)

* 5,000 Nepalese women are trafficked into India yearly. There are now 100,000 Nepalese women in India in prostitution. (CATW-Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific, 1996)

* In Calcutta, various studies conducted by the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health in 1993 estimate that 20% of the 5,000 sex workers in the Sonagachi red-light area are Nepalese. (Human Rights Watch/Asia, Rape and Profit, June 1995)

* 160,000 Nepalese women are held in India's brothels. (CATW Fact Book, citing SANLAAP India, Indrani Sinha, "Paper on Globalization & Human Rights")

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

* The NGO CWIN alleges that 2000 brothels exist in Nepal and a high percentage of the prostitutes working were children. (ECPAT, CSEC Database, http://www.ecpat.net/eng/ecpat_inter/projects/monitoring/online_database/index.asp)

* Nepal is a source country for internationally trafficked women and children. (US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, July 12, 2001)


* Poor, uneducated young women from Nepal's rural regions are trafficked to India to work as prostitutes and for bonded labour. Nepalese citizens also are trafficked to Hong Kong, Thailand, and countries in the Middle East. Government officials suspect that organised crime groups and "marriage brokers" are the primary traffickers in Nepal and state that parents and other relatives of trafficking victims are sometimes complicit. (US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, July 12, 2001)

* Nepalese girls as young as 11 years are trafficked into India to work as prostitutes. (Will Dunham, "U.S. grapples with 'modern-day slavery'", 1 September 2000, reprinted in Stop Trafficking Archive, September 2000)

* Notorious in their own right for appalling working conditions, Nepalese carpet factories, where 50% of the workers are estimated to be children, are common sites of sexual exploitation by employers, as well as recruitment centres for Indian brothels. (UNICEF, State of the World's Children, 1997)

* The trafficking of girls from Nepal into India for the purpose of prostitution is probably the busiest 'slave traffic' of its kind anywhere in the world. (CATW Fact Book, citing Tim McGirk, "Nepal's Lost Daughters", 27 January 1997)