Children in Tanzania are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including in mining, quarrying, and domestic work, each sometimes as a result of human trafficking. (1-3) Children also perform dangerous tasks in agriculture. (1,4) Table 1 provides key indicators on children’s work and education in Mainland Tanzania.

Source for primary completion rate: Data from 2019, published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2021. (5)
Source for all other data: International Labor Organization's analysis of statistics from National Child Labour Survey (NCLS), 2014. (1,6)

Based on a review of available information, Table 2 provides an overview of children's work by sector and activity.

† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.

Tanzania is a source, transit, and destination country for child trafficking for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Child trafficking is often facilitated by victims’ family members, friends, or intermediaries who promise assistance with education, better living conditions, or employment. (2,30) Parents, particularly from poor and rural households, entrust their children to the care of wealthy relatives and community leaders who sometimes coerce the children to perform domestic work. (2) Girls are often subject to child trafficking, including for domestic work or commercial sexual exploitation; this frequently occurs along the Kenyan border and in tourist, mining, and construction areas. (2) Although trafficking of children primarily occurs within Tanzania, children from Burundi and Rwanda are brought into Tanzania for forced labor. (2,31) According to reports, Burundian refugee children living in Tanzania are increasingly vulnerable to exploitation, including commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as result of human trafficking, and for work on farms in western Tanzania. (30,32,33) Research also indicates that commercial sexual exploitation of children, particularly girls, has increased in Tanzania, resulting from school closures and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are also rising instances of online-based forms of sexual exploitation. (3)

Children working in mining are exposed to many hazards, such as mercury poisoning and being trapped when tunnels collapse, especially in smaller unlicensed operations. (19,20,34,35) A 2019 report identified children grinding and pounding rock for production of gravel in Pemba. The children working at these sites were using dangerous tools and exposed to being hit by rock fragments. (15) The Mainland 2019 Statistics Act restricts the sharing of government-collected data and information with people and organizations, including information related to children's protection and child labor. (3,36)

Schools, particularly in rural areas, lack adequate teachers, classrooms, food, and sanitation facilities. Families are often required to financially contribute to offset these deficits and pay for costs of uniforms, books, and other school materials. (3,37) In addition, schools often lack resources for children with disabilities or learning disorders, resulting in many of these students dropping out and becoming vulnerable to child labor. (3,38) A practice that contributes to children being left out of the formal education system derives from Mainland Tanzania's Education Act, which allows school officials to conduct medical examinations on students; school administrators apply this law in combination with the Mainland's Education Regulations, which allow for the expulsion of students for moral offenses, to compel female students to undergo pregnancy tests and expel them if they are pregnant. Pregnant girls excluded from the school system have increased vulnerability to the worst forms of child labor. (39-45) Senior government officials, including the late President, have explicitly expressed support for this practice. (3,44,46) In early 2021, the government indicated that expelled girls could return to school, but only if they passed either Form 2 or Form 4 national exams, which they must take independently, without the support of a school. (47) To date, schools continue the practice of expelling girls who become pregnant. (3,43-45)

Tanzania has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labor (Table 3).

The government has established laws and regulations related to child labor (Table 4). However, gaps exist in Tanzania’s legal framework to adequately protect children from the worst forms of child labor, including the minimum age for work and the compulsory education age.

* No conscription (56)

Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar’s non-union matters are governed by distinct territorial jurisdictional laws, leaving each territory to determine its own child labor laws. (11,52) The minimum age for work laws in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar do not meet international standards because they do not extend to all working children, including children engaged in domestic work. (48,50,51) Mainland Tanzania’s hazardous work list for children does not specify weeding and processing as activities that are dangerous agricultural tasks in the production of tobacco, cloves, coffee, sisal, and tea. (34,48,49,59) In addition, Mainland Tanzania does not clearly provide penalties for using children for illicit activities, including in the production and trafficking of drugs.

Although Zanzibar has a policy establishing compulsory education through the age of 15, this standard has not been put into law; the Education Act stipulates a compulsory education age of 13, which is below the minimum age for work. (39,58) In the Mainland, there is no free basic education for children as established by law and the compulsory education age is below the minimum age of work, increasing the risk of children’s involvement in child labor. (57)

The government has established institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and regulations on child labor (Table 5). However, gaps exist within the authority of enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate enforcement of their child labor laws.

Labor Law Enforcement

In 2020, labor law enforcement agencies in Tanzania took actions to combat child labor (Table 6). However, gaps exist within the authority and operations of the labor ministries that may hinder adequate labor law enforcement, including authority to assess penalties and publicly available enforcement data.

The Mainland Government did not provide information on labor enforcement efforts for inclusion in this report. (11) Despite regulations in both the Mainland and Zanzibar requiring that one or more labor officers be assigned to each region, research was unable to determine whether this was followed during the reporting period. An international organization reports there to be only 73 labor inspectors in the Mainland, although the Mainland government has not provided information on the size of its labor inspectorate. (64,65) While the number of labor inspectors is unknown, according to the ILO's technical advice of a ratio approaching 1 inspector for every 40,000 workers in least developed economies, Tanzania would need to employ roughly 622 labor inspectors as its workforce consists of over 25 million workers.(3,7,64-66)During the reporting period, the Government of Zanzibar increased the funding of the labor inspectorate to $20,181 from its previous allocation of $7,180 in 2019, while hiring an additional 16 labor inspectors; the labor inspectorate, however, lacks sufficient personnel, office facilities, transportation and fuel, and other resources to adequately enforce child labor laws. (3) Although figures on the Mainland labor inspectorate funding remain unavailable, NGOs have noted that labor enforcement efforts would benefit from additional funding and increased numbers of inspections. (60) As the law in Zanzibar treats child labor as a criminal offense, labor inspectorates may initiate prosecutions for violations related to child labor. (50)

Criminal Law Enforcement

In 2020, criminal law enforcement agencies in Tanzania took actions to combat child labor (Table 7). However, gaps exist within the operations of the criminal enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate criminal law enforcement, including training for criminal investigators.

The Mainland Government did not provide information on criminal law enforcement efforts related to the worst forms of child labor in 2020. In January 2021, however, Mainland criminal law investigators arrested and initiated prosecutions against 15 individuals accused of trafficking disabled children for forced begging. (3,28) An NGO operates a child abuse hotline and reported 49 complaints of child labor to government authorities in 2020; however, research could not determine whether the government conducted investigations in response to these complaints. (3) During the reporting period, police coordinated with social welfare officers, immigration officials, and local NGOS to identify and provide reintegration support to 56 street children. (28)

The government has established mechanisms to coordinate its efforts to address child labor (Table 8). However, gaps exist that hinder the effective coordination of efforts to address child labor, including inactive coordinating bodies.

The government has established policies related to child labor (Table 9). However, policy gaps exist that hinder efforts to address child labor, including implementation.

‡ The government had other policies that may have addressed child labor issues or had an impact on child labor. (58,60,68,70)

Tanzania does not have a law requiring free public education, but it does have an education policy that allows children to attend primary school and lower secondary school without paying tuition fees. (71,72) The Mainland Government, however, regulates access to secondary education through the Primary School Leaving Examination. Students who do not pass the exam do not have an opportunity to re-take the exam and must drop out of public school at the end of compulsory education at age 14. (68) Despite the government's stated intention to phase out the exam by 2021, there is no evidence of government efforts or preparations to do so. (40,68,73) Since 2006, the Zanzibar Government has administered education under the Zanzibar Education Policy, which establishes compulsory education through Form 4 (approximately age 15). (58,74) However, research indicates that implementation of this policy has been slow due to limited resources for schools. The government, moreover, has not included child labor elimination and prevention strategies into the Education Policy. (58) More than half of children in Zanzibar leave the formal education system below the minimum age for work, leaving them at increased risk for child labor. (75,76)

In 2020, the government funded and participated in programs that may contribute to eliminating or preventing child labor (Table 10). However, gaps exist in these social programs, including the scope and implementation of programs in all relevant sectors.

† Program is funded by the Government of Tanzania.
‡ The government had other social programs that may have included the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor. (60)

In response to rising cases of sexual exploitation of children and youths during the pandemic, the government partnered with a local NGO in an awareness campaign with information on issues of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. (3)

An evaluation of Tanzania's Conditional Cash Transfer Program found that it had achieved little reduction of child labor, as the work of children only shifted from outside to inside the household. Furthermore, the program had not achieved reductions in excessive working hours and engagement in hazardous activities among children. (80)

The scope of government-funded social programs is inadequate in that it does not cover construction, mining and quarrying, domestic service, fishing, and informal sectors in which children engage in child labor.

Based on the reporting above, suggested actions are identified that would advance the elimination of child labor in Tanzania (Table 11).

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