Is child labor declining or increasing? This question arises very occasionally. The United Nations website states, "Economic growth will not reduce poverty, improve equality and produce jobs unless it is inclusive." This statement shows that there is an economic problem which must be acknowledged by nation-states, as child labor is their jurisdiction. Despite the United Nations' success in creating legislation, Turkey, Ethiopia and India have not correctly implemented said legislation and are thus facing issues with child labor. In Turkey, the problem of child labor lays within excess reproduction in a household in order to supplement the family income. Ethiopia's child labor problem lays in its young population, most of which engages in illegal labor during the time they should be in school. Having the second largest population of the world, India's child labor problem lays in twelve percent of its child population engaging in child labor.
Turkey's population is very young, with a median age of 22. In 2012, a law had been passed to raise the compulsory education age to 17; education in Turkey is free, and compulsory. This law was passed after an inquisition by the Turkish government into the worst forms of child labor in Turkey. Findings show that Turkish children are engaged in the most dangerous form of child labor: the agriculture industry. This industry is dangerous due to the complex process of sowing and reaping. Long hours of work, chemical exposure, and a risk of malnutrition are all associated as dangers of working in the agriculture industry. The Turkish government has also reported, according to the US Department of Labor, that there are children working in the production of bricks, leather goods, shoes and textiles. These are considered dangerous because the children may have to work long hours, and with dangerous machinery and/or chemicals. As of May 22, 2003, in the Labor Act of Turkey, the government of Turkey has defined the minimum age for work at 15 years.
