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| Region | Country | # Working in ASM |
|---|---|---|
| South Asia | India | 15,000,000 |
| East Asia & Pacific | China | 9,000,000 |
| East Asia & Pacific | Indonesia | 3,600,000 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Democratic Republic of Congo | 2,000,000 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Ethiopia | 1,260,000 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Ghana | 1,100,000 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Burkina Faso | 1,000,000 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Zimbabwe | 1,000,000 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Sudan | 1,000,000 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Tanzania | 1,000,000 |
Estimates of the number of individuals engaged in ASM worldwide began in 1993 with the United Nations and has been revised by numerous global studies that demonstrate the incredible growth of the sector as an alternative livelihood option for millions globally. In addition some studies have estimated the number of people dependent on ASM activity: 80-100 million people in 1999 (ILO 1999), 60-150 million people in 2013 (IIED 2013)
Data Source: United Nations 1993, ILO 1999, European Commission 2012, IIED 2013, IGF 2018
Data Source:
Distribution of unique data sources by publication year in the Delve database. This graph counts the number of unique data sources within the Delve database that provide unique quantitative data on employment for the ASM sector per publication year. The increase in data sources produced from 2001-2004 can be attributed to the initiation of the "Communities and Small-scale Mining" (CASM) initiative as well as the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development Project (MMSD) funded by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and implemented by International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
The data presented in this Version 1 of the Delve platform are from secondary sources and reflect data availability on the ASM sector. All data, countries and minerals are not yet represented. Data will be added on an ongoing basis as the global data gap on ASM continues to be filled. Visualizations created with Highcharts.com under a Creative Commons (CC) Attribution-NonCommercial license.
