1.6 million underage workers in Egypt: Official figures

Over nine per cent of Egyptian children are involved in child labour, which translates to around 1.6 million underage workers between 5 and 17 years old, Egypt’s official statistics body announced Thursday. Most of them work in adverse working environments.

The survey results show that around two thirds of working children in Egypt are younger than 15 years of age with around 46 per cent between the ages of 12 and 14.

The Egyptian country side hosts the majority of child workers with around 1.32 million children in both Upper and Lower Egypt. The agriculture sector employees 68 per cent of underage workers, followed by the services sector which hires 18 per cent; mostly as apprentices in trades.