MANILA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The number of working children, ages five to 17, in the Philippines increased by 0.8 percent to 868,540 in 2025, up from 861,450 in 2024, according to data recently released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Working children accounted for 3.1 percent of the country's child population, up from 2.7 percent in 2024 but below the 3.5 percent recorded in 2023. Boys made up 61.6 percent of working children, and by age group, the majority of the total working children in 2025 were 15 to 17 years old.
Economists attributed the increase to persistent poverty, rising living costs and the lingering economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which they said have forced more families to rely on children to support household incomes. ■