Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports

Zambia

Cattle
Cattle
Child Labor Icon
Cotton
Cotton
Child Labor Icon
Gems
Gems
Child Labor Icon
Stones
Stones
Child Labor Icon
Tobacco
Tobacco
Child Labor Icon
Copper Ore
Copper Ore
Child Labor Icon
Manganese
Manganese
Child Labor Icon
Zambia
2023 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor:

Moderate Advancement

In 2023, Zambia made moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security conducted 3,318 inspections in 2023, a 42 percent increase compared to 2022, opened a call center to receive complaints of labor violations, and released an analysis of child labor. The government also increased its budget for education by 18 percent, which included the hiring of 7,222 teachers and improvements to school infrastructure throughout the country. In addition, the government continued its school feeding program, which currently serves nearly 2 million students. However, Zambia's law does not meet international standards on education because the Education Act does not specify a compulsory attendance age. Despite having a mandate to do so, labor inspectors do not inspect the informal sector, which comprises 73 percent of economic activity and is the area in which most incidents of child labor in Zambia are known to occur. Finally, responsible government offices had no case management or records management systems to track whether they had assessed penalties for child labor violations or held perpetrators accountable for child labor crimes.

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