Child labour is an “extreme risk” in one in 10 countries globally, according to research by global risk and strategic consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft. The Child Labour Index, which aims to help businesses identify and root out child labour in international supply chains, found little progress was recorded in key manufacturing hubs in India and China, which ranked 47th and 98th out of 198 countries in the Child Labour Index, with North Korea in first place with the highest risk. A total of 27 countries – which account for more than 10 percent of the world’s population – were found to have an “extreme risk” of child labour, with Somalia, South Sudan, Eritrea and the Central African Republic completing the top five on the index. India and China had a high level of reported incidents and had made “no tangible improvement” on reducing child labour risks since comparable data collections began in 2016. The research urged businesses to be more vigilant about abuses in their global supply chains.

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