Rabat - June 12, 2013 (MAP)
Some 92,000 children aged 7-15 are engaged in child labour in Morocco, or 1.9 pc of all children in this age group, according to the results of a survey of the High Commission for Planning (HCP) issued on the occasion of the World Day against Child Labour observed annually on June 12. The phenomenon of child labor in Morocco is however in sharp decline since 1999 when it touched 9.7 pc of all children of 7 to less than 15 years, or 517,000 children, says the survey, stressing that the child labor is concentrated mainly in rural areas where it touches 3.9 pc of children (85,000) against 16.2 pc in 1999 (452,000 children). In the cities, this phenomenon concerns 0.3 pc of urban children (7000) against 2.5 pc in 1999 (65,000 children), the same source adds, noting that more than nine working children in ten (92 .4 per cent) live in rural areas. Moreover, this phenomenon affects more boys than girls (54.1 pc are male). This proportion varies from 51.1 pc to 90.3 pc in urban areas. Depending on the circumstances, 21.7 pc of children work alongside their schooling, 59.2 pc dropped out of school and 19.1 pc have never attended school. The UNICEF estimates that nearly one in six children aged 5–14 are engaged in child labour in the world. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 7.4 million children in the same age group are domestic workers.