Child labor is most common in developing countries, particularly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
But it occurs in wealthy countries as well.
Child workers typically are found in agriculture, working long hours, sometimes under inhumane and hazardous conditions for
little or no pay. In Zimbabwe some children work 60 hours per week picking cotton or coffee. In Nepal children work on tea estates, some for up to 14 hours per day. In its most
extreme form, the exploitation of working children takes the form of slavery or forced labor,
still practiced in parts of Asia and Africa. Children’s work may be pledged by parents
for payment of a debt, the children may be kidnapped and imprisoned in brothels
or sweatshops, or they may be given away or sold by families. Child labor is evidenced in
the United States by children trafficking drugs in inner-city neighborhoods.