WORLD Policy Analysis Center

How many hours are 12-year-olds legally protected from working on a school day?

This map tells us the maximum number of hours that 12-year-olds are legally allowed to work on school days.

In cases when a country explicitly specifies the maximum number of hours children are permitted to work on a school day, we used that.

When countries do not specify the number of hours of work allowed on a school day, we use the maximum number of hours permitted per day (not specific to a school day) because it is assumed that these regulations will also apply to school days.

When countries state that work is prohibited during school hours but do not specify particular hour limitations, a 6-hour school day is assumed and combined with data on the number of hours of rest guaranteed at night; the remaining number of hours is used to determine the hours of work permitted on school days.

Protected from any work means that children are not generally permitted to do any type of work at age 12.

Only light work permitted means that at age 12, children are only permitted to do light work, defined by C138 as work which is “(a) not likely to be harmful to their health or development; and (b) not such as to prejudice their attendance at school, their participation in vocational orientation or training programmes approved by the competent authority or their capacity to benefit from the instruction received”.

Countries

Marshall Islands - 8 or more hours

Micronesia, Federated States of - 8 or more hours

Palau - 8 or more hours

San Marino - 8 or more hours

Solomon Islands - 8 or more hours

Tonga - 8 or more hours

Dominica - 6 - 7.9 hours

Pakistan - 6 - 7.9 hours

Bangladesh - 3 - 5.9 hours

Cambodia - 3 - 5.9 hours

Greece - 3 - 5.9 hours

Peru - 3 - 5.9 hours

The Philippines - 3 - 5.9 hours

Belize - 1 - 2.9 hours

Mali - 1 - 2.9 hours

Mauritania - 1 - 2.9 hours

Sri Lanka - 1 - 2.9 hours

Afghanistan - Protected from any work

Albania - Protected from any work

Algeria - Protected from any work

Andorra - Protected from any work

Angola - Protected from any work

Argentina - Protected from any work

Armenia - Protected from any work

Australia - Protected from any work

Austria - Protected from any work

Azerbaijan - Protected from any work

Bahrain - Protected from any work

Barbados - Protected from any work

Belarus - Protected from any work

Belgium - Protected from any work

Bhutan - Protected from any work

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Protected from any work

Botswana - Protected from any work

Brazil - Protected from any work

Brunei - Protected from any work

Bulgaria - Protected from any work

Burkina Faso - Protected from any work

Cameroon - Protected from any work

Chile - Protected from any work

China - Protected from any work

Colombia - Protected from any work

Democratic Republic of the Congo - Protected from any work

Republic of the Congo - Protected from any work

Costa Rica - Protected from any work

Cote d'Ivoire - Protected from any work

Croatia - Protected from any work

Cuba - Protected from any work

Cyprus - Protected from any work

Czech Republic - Protected from any work

Denmark - Protected from any work

Djibouti - Protected from any work

Ecuador - Protected from any work

Equatorial Guinea - Protected from any work

Eritrea - Protected from any work

Estonia - Protected from any work

Ethiopia - Protected from any work

Fiji - Protected from any work

Finland - Protected from any work

France - Protected from any work

Gabon - Protected from any work

The Gambia - Protected from any work

Georgia - Protected from any work

Germany - Protected from any work

Ghana - Protected from any work

Greenland - Protected from any work

Grenada - Protected from any work

Guatemala - Protected from any work

Guinea-Bissau - Protected from any work

Guyana - Protected from any work

Haiti - Protected from any work

Honduras - Protected from any work

Hungary - Protected from any work

Iceland - Protected from any work

India - Protected from any work

Indonesia - Protected from any work

Iran - Protected from any work

Iraq - Protected from any work

Ireland - Protected from any work

Israel - Protected from any work

Italy - Protected from any work

Jamaica - Protected from any work

Japan - Protected from any work

Jordan - Protected from any work

Kazakhstan - Protected from any work

Kenya - Protected from any work

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Protected from any work

Republic of Korea - Protected from any work

Kuwait - Protected from any work

Kyrgyzstan - Protected from any work

Latvia - Protected from any work

Lebanon - Protected from any work

Lesotho - Protected from any work

Liberia - Protected from any work

Libya - Protected from any work

Liechtenstein - Protected from any work

Lithuania - Protected from any work

North Macedonia - Protected from any work

Madagascar - Protected from any work

Malawi - Protected from any work

Maldives - Protected from any work

Malta - Protected from any work

Mauritius - Protected from any work

Mexico - Protected from any work

Moldova - Protected from any work

Mongolia - Protected from any work

Montenegro - Protected from any work

Morocco - Protected from any work

Mozambique - Protected from any work

Myanmar - Protected from any work

Namibia - Protected from any work

Nepal - Protected from any work

The Netherlands - Protected from any work

Nicaragua - Protected from any work

Niger - Protected from any work

Norway - Protected from any work

Papua New Guinea - Protected from any work

Paraguay - Protected from any work

Poland - Protected from any work

Qatar - Protected from any work

Romania - Protected from any work

Russian Federation - Protected from any work

Rwanda - Protected from any work

Sao Tome and Principe - Protected from any work

Saudi Arabia - Protected from any work

Serbia - Protected from any work

Sierra Leone - Protected from any work

Singapore - Protected from any work

Slovenia - Protected from any work

Somalia - Protected from any work

South Africa - Protected from any work

Spain - Protected from any work

St. Lucia - Protected from any work

Sudan - Protected from any work

Suriname - Protected from any work

Eswatini - Protected from any work

Sweden - Protected from any work

Switzerland - Protected from any work

Syria - Protected from any work

Tajikistan - Protected from any work

Tanzania - Protected from any work

Thailand - Protected from any work

Timor-Leste - Protected from any work

Togo - Protected from any work

Trinidad and Tobago - Protected from any work

Tunisia - Protected from any work

Türkiye - Protected from any work

Tuvalu - Protected from any work

Ukraine - Protected from any work

United Arab Emirates - Protected from any work

United Kingdom - Protected from any work

United States of America - Protected from any work

Uruguay - Protected from any work

Uzbekistan - Protected from any work

Venezuela - Protected from any work

Vietnam - Protected from any work

Yemen - Protected from any work

Zambia - Protected from any work

Zimbabwe - Protected from any work

Antigua and Barbuda - Only light work permitted

Bahamas - Only light work permitted

Benin - Only light work permitted

Bolivia - Only light work permitted

Burundi - Only light work permitted

Canada - Only light work permitted

Cabo Verde - Only light work permitted

Central African Republic - Only light work permitted

Chad - Only light work permitted

Comoros - Only light work permitted

Dominican Republic - Only light work permitted

Egypt - Only light work permitted

El Salvador - Only light work permitted

Guinea - Only light work permitted

Kiribati - Only light work permitted

Laos - Only light work permitted

Luxembourg - Only light work permitted

Malaysia - Only light work permitted

New Zealand - Only light work permitted

Nigeria - Only light work permitted

Oman - Only light work permitted

Panama - Only light work permitted

Portugal - Only light work permitted

Samoa - Only light work permitted

Senegal - Only light work permitted

Seychelles - Only light work permitted

Slovakia - Only light work permitted

South Sudan - Only light work permitted

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Only light work permitted

Turkmenistan - Only light work permitted

Uganda - Only light work permitted

Vanuatu - Only light work permitted