1.7 million children and youth in Myanmar go to work instead of school

A boy works, unloading stones from a boat in Dala, Myanmar

One in five听children aged 10 to 17 in Myanmar go to work instead of school,听according to figures from a census report on employment.

The Occupation and Industry report 国产视频� part of Myanmar国产视频檚 2014听census 国产视频� shows about 1.7 million children between 10 and 17听years of age are working.

国产视频淭oday, one in five children aged 10 to 17 are missing out on听the education that can help them get good jobs and have听employment security when they grow up,国产视频� Janet E. Jackson, United听Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative for Myanmar, said听in a statement yesterday.

Many parts of rural Myanmar are mired in poverty and one听million people are estimated to be in need of humanitarian aid听due to natural disasters and internal conflict which have driven听hundreds of thousands from their homes, according to the United听Nations.

The 2014 nationwide census 国产视频� Myanmar国产视频檚 first in 30 years 国产视频撎齱as criticised for excluding the country国产视频檚 Muslim Rohingya听minorities, who suffer state-sanctioned discrimination.

Most of 1.1 million Rohingya are stateless and live in听apartheid-like conditions in the western state of Rakhine.

The main results of the census were released in May 2015听and showed Myanmar国产视频檚 population stood at 51.4 million 国产视频� a figure听that includes an estimate of the Rohingya population based on听pre-census mapping in Rakhine state, according to UNFPA.

The employment data highlighted a gender gap in the labour听market, with about half of women aged 15 to 64 working or听looking for a job, compared to 85% of men.

The report indicated 52% of听Myanmar国产视频檚 population is working in the agriculture, forestry or听fishing sectors.

Data from other sources show deep poverty in the country.听Only a third of Myanmar国产视频檚 households have electric light,听the infant mortality rate is 62 per 100,000 live births and听life expectancy stands at 66.8 years compared to neighbouring听Thailand国产视频檚 74 years, according to the World Bank.

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