In Kyrgyzstan, nearly 20% of children aged 5 and older work

According to data from the Comprehensive Household and Child Survey (COMP), in 2023, the most recent data available today, approximately 20% of children aged 5 to 17 were engaged in labor in Kyrgyzstan.

At the same time, there remains a gender gap in the level of involvement in child labor. Thus, 23% of boys work, compared to 16% of girls. This indicates a higher burden on boys, especially in sectors involving physical labor.

The most pronounced difference remains the regional variation. In rural areas, child labor is used almost twice as often as in cities, where the proportion of working children is around 14%, while in rural areas it exceeds 22%. This is due to the prevalence of family farms, informal employment, and limited access to alternative sources of income.

The level of family wealth has a significant impact on the scale of child labor. According to KUMP data, in the poorest households in 2023, 26.1% of children were engaged in child labor, compared to 32.1% in 2018. This indicates a noticeable reduction in the indicator. At the same time, in the richest households, the proportion of working children has, on the contrary, increased from 6.1% to 8.3%.

This trend highlights the direct dependence of children's involvement in economic activity on the level of family income, but at the same time points to structural shifts. Child labor is no longer exclusively a consequence of poverty and is increasingly associated with family businesses, informal employment, or the early involvement of children in economic practices, even in wealthy households.

As a result, despite an overall decline in the scale of child labor compared to previous years, the problem remains relevant.