MANILA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The number of working children aged five to 17 in the Philippines dropped to an estimated 863,000 in 2024, down from 1.09 million in 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
In 2022, the figure stood at 1.48 million.
The share of working children to the total population aged five to 17 also declined, falling to 2.7 percent in 2024 from 3.5 percent in 2023 and 4.7 percent in 2022.
By age group, 74.4 percent of working children in 2024 were aged 15 to 17.
The PSA noted that the services sector has consistently employed the largest proportion of working children over the past three years. Most of these children worked 20 hours or less per week. ■
