KARACHI: Over 1.6 million children, between five and 17 years of age, in Sindh have been found to be trapped in child labour, revealed the Sindh Child Labour Survey 2022–2024.

Conducted by the provincial labour department with technical support from Unicef and the Bureau of Statistics Sindh, the survey also revealed that over half (50.4pc) of child labour victims aged 10-17 worked in hazardous conditions, exposing them to excessive hours, extreme weather and unsafe tools.

Labour Director General Muhammad Ali Shah, who is also the project director of the survey, told Dawn that the survey had been submitted to the provincial government.

He said that the incidence of child labour has seen a significant decline, reduced by nearly 50pc compared to the 1996 baseline.

According to Pakistan’s first and only National Child Labour Survey, conducted in 1996, the prevalence of child labour in Sindh was recorded at 20.6pc of the total child population at that time.

The latest survey also revealed that school attendance among working children is significantly lower (40.6pc) compared to non-working peers (70.5pc), with attendance declining steeply with age.

According to the survey, girls aged 14 to 17 years bear a heavier burden of household chores, averaging 13.9 hours per week and face higher school dropout rates.

The survey stated that child labour was strongly linked to poverty, with 33.7pc of the poorest households reporting at least one working child.

It stated that 20.1pc of children in child labour report symptoms of depression, nearly double the rate among children not in child labour.

The survey highlights significant variations in child labour rates across districts. Qambar Shahdadkot has the highest rate at 30.8pc, followed by Tharparkar (29pc), Shikarpur (20.2pc) and Tando Muhammad Khan (20.3pc), while Karachi has the lowest rate at 2.38pc.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2025