By Edzorna Francis Mensah
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) released additional statistics on the economic activity of children on World Day Against Child Labour. Nationally, 419,254 children aged 5 to 17 years were engaged in economic activity during the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC): 76,439 children aged 5 to 9 years, 153,189 aged 10 to 14 years, and 189,626 aged 15 to 17 years.
According to the report, children aged 5 to 17 worked on average 29.2 hours in the seven days preceding Census Night.
Children 15 to 17 years old worked an average of 35.2 hours, children 10 to 14 years old worked an average of 26.5 hours (about 5 hours per weekday), and children 5 to 9 years old worked an average of 19.8 hours (about 4 hours per weekday).
Children engaged as paid apprentices worked the highest number of hours on average (48.4), almost twice that of those engaged as contributing family workers, who worked the lowest hours on average (25.0).
Children in the service sector worked 36.8 hours on average, while those in the agricultural sector worked an average of 25.6 hours.
Nationally, 153,773 children aged 5 to 17 engaged in economic activity had never attended school.
Out of this number, 37,963 children were 5 to 9 years old. In all, 94,748 children aged 5 to 17 engaged in economic activity were also attending school during the census.
Eight in every ten (81.3%) children aged 5 to 9 years who were engaged in economic activity lived in six regions: Northern (19,727), Oti (14,875), North East (8,073), Upper West (7,071), Savannah (6,525), and Upper East (5,851). Nkwanta North (9,707), Karachi Nchumuru (7,598), and Nanumba North Municipal (7,598) had the highest number of children 5 to 14 years old engaged in economic activities.
These three districts had 21,726 children, representing 10.8 percent of all children 5 to 14 years old engaged in economic activities.
The population of children engaged in economic activities in the Nkwanta North, Krachi Nchumur, and Nanumba North Municipal districts exceeds the Bono (3,635), Ahafo (3,261), Western North (2,088), Western (4,179), and Central (4,834) regions combined.
In all, 30 out of the 261 districts had more than 10 percent of children aged 5 to 14 engaged in economic activity.
The district with the highest percentage was Karachi Nchumuru, where one in every three children (34.8%) was engaged in economic activity.
The percentage in this district was about 10 times the national average of 3.2 percent.
Nkwanta North (27.8%) and Yunyoo Nasuan (25.3%) were the two other districts
where over a quarter of children were engaged in economic activity.
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) released these statistics on the 2023 World Day Against Child Labour which was commemorated on June 12 under the theme “Social Justice for All. End Child Labour!”.