† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.

Children at Higher Risk

Child trafficking victims in North Macedonia are usually girls who have been subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Children aged 9 to 17, especially those with mental and physical disabilities, are increasingly vulnerable to trafficking. Teenage girls are especially vulnerable to online recruitment. Roma children are at risk of exploitation in street work. Roma girls are vulnerable to forced marriages, wherein they are subjected to sexual and labor exploitation. Some Roma children are not registered at birth, and their parents lack registration and identification documents to access health care, social protection, and education. Children from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Syria, Pakistan, and other countries continue to transit through North Macedonia and are vulnerable to labor and sex trafficking.

Barriers to Education Access

Many Roma children have difficulty accessing education due to a lack of birth registration and identity cards, which are required for attending school in North Macedonia. Also, the segregation of Roma children in the education system keeps hindering their educational opportunities. Roma NGOs have reported that non-Roma parents often protest if Roma children are placed in the same class with non-Roma children, putting pressure on schools to segregate students. Additionally, the government continues to face challenges in meeting the educational needs of Roma and other ethnic minority children due to an ongoing shortage of qualified teachers who can provide instruction in Romani, Turkish, and Bosnian.

North Macedonia has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labor. In 2024, the government adopted amendments to the Law for Primary Education to improve the access of Roma, Bosniak, Turkish, Serbian, and other students of minority groups to education. Additionally, the government approved the new Law on Justice for Children, which introduces restorative justice through the right to compensation for a child victim and protections for children in contact with the justice system. However, North Macedonia's minimum age for work protections do not meet international standards because they do not apply to children who are self-employed or working outside formal employment relationships. In addition, because the minimum age for work is lower than the compulsory education age, children may also be encouraged to leave school before the completion of compulsory education. Also, law does not prohibit the use of children over 14 who are not victims of human trafficking in prostitution.

In 2024, 127 labor inspectors conducted 12,539 worksite inspections, finding 1 child labor violation. The government also conducted 19 investigations into suspected worst forms of child labor crimes, initiated 14 prosecutions, and convicted 24 perpetrators. However, there is also evidence that local police may be complicit in child trafficking, although the government did not report prosecuting any officials.

‡ Program is funded by the Government of North Macedonia.
† The government had other social programs that may have included the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor.

Download the 2024 Bibliography