Child labor in Bolivia  Child labor in Bolivia is a widespread phenomenon. A 2014 document on the worst forms of child labor released by the U.S. Department of Labor estimated that approximately 20.2% of children between the ages of 7 and 14, or 388,541 children make up the labor force in Bolivia. Indigenous children are more likely to be engaged in labor than children who reside in urban areas. The activities of child laborers are diverse, however the majority of child laborers are involved in agricultural labor, and this activity varies between urban and rural areas. Bolivia has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990. Bolivia has also ratified the International Labour Organization’s Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (138) and the ILO’s worst forms of child labor convention (182). In July 2014, the Bolivian government passed the new child and adolescent code, which lowered the minimum working age to ten years old given certain working conditions The new code stipulates that children between the ages of ten and twelve can legally work given they are self-employed while children between 12 and 14 may work as contracted laborers as long as their work does not interfere with their education and they work under parental supervision. The International Labour Organization defines child labor as work that “deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity and that is harmful to their mental and physical development.” UNICEF defines children as engaging in child labor as those between the ages of 5 and 11 who participate in one hour of economic activity or 28 hours of domestic activity a week, and those between 12 and 14 who participate in at least 14 hours of economic activity or 28 hours of domestic work a week. A large percentage of child laborers, about 70.9% are employed in the agricultural sector, working in activities such as planting and harvesting corn, working on cattle ranches, and planting and harvesting chestnuts and sugarcane. In rural areas children begin working at a young age, and participate in activities on small-scale farms and on medium and large plantations doing activities such as sowing, harvesting, weeding and taking care of cattle. Children who work in subsistence agriculture are exposed to harmful chemicals and are obligated to work for long hours, which reduces their ability to receive an education Work on plantations is more difficult than work on small-scale farms, and children are exposed to more pesticides and hazardous working conditions which may result in infections and physical injuries from use of farm equipment. Mining in Bolivia is a common activity carried out by child laborers in rural areas, and the ILO has estimated that around 13,500 children are involved in mining.