Africa selling fruit. In many African
metropolitan areas, hawkers, commonly referred to as "vendors", are seen everywhere. They sell a wide range of goods such as fish, fruits, vegetables, clothes and books. In suburban areas, they go door to door; in more commercial areas, they usually have stands or lay their goods on the ground. In the afternoon, many of them sell commercial goods in the more crowded parts of the cities, and at night, they sell juices, tea and snacks. The prices are lower than in shops and so attract people on low incomes.
Asia India , India. Many street vendors in South Asia are children. According to the
Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, there are 10 million street vendors in
India, with
Mumbai accounting for 250,000,
Delhi has 200,000,
Kolkata, more than 150,000, and Ahmedabad, 100,000. Most of them are immigrants or laid-off workers, work for an average 10–12 hours a day, and remain impoverished. Though the prevalent
license-permit raj in
Indian bureaucracy ended for most retailing in the 1990s, it continues in this trade. Inappropriate license ceiling in most cities, like Mumbai which has a ceiling 14,000 licenses, means more vendors hawk their goods illegally, which also makes them prone to the bribery and extortion culture under local police and municipal authorities, besides harassment, heavy fines and sudden evictions. In Kolkata, the profession was a
cognisable and non-bailable offense. Over the years, the street vendors have organized themselves into trade unions and associations, and numerous
NGO's have started working for them. In fact, The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) based in Delhi, is a federation of 715 street vendor organizations, trade unions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on 6 September 2013 and by the
Rajya Sabha (upper house) on 19 February 2014. The bill received the assent of the
President of India on 4 March 2014. Only three states have implemented the bill as of April 2017. The bill handed governance over public space and vendors over to municipalities. Although, one of the main purposes of the Street Vendors Act was to allow the vendors to have a voice in governance, the bill made conditions more difficult for vendors as they have become more heavily scrutinized.
Bangladesh In the capital city of Dhaka, street vendors such as small tea stalls, and popular food stalls (fuchka, chotpoti) along the public spaces (university campuses, bus terminals, market places) have a significant role to cater to the urban population. The term "pedagang kaki lima" originates from the colonial-era architectural regulation known as "
five‑foot way", a covered sidewalk roughly five feet (1.5 m) wide mandated by British Governor‑General
Thomas Stamford Raffles in Batavia (1811–1816) and due to a
Malay linguistic inversion of the English modifier structure (
five‑foot way) it became misinterpreted as "kaki lima" ("five feet") and eventually came to refer to the street hawkers who occupied these sidewalks. Pedagang kaki lima in Indonesia offer a vast array of foods, ranging from hearty dishes to light snacks and beverages. Popular main dishes include
bakso, meatball soup served with broth, noodles, scallions, and chili, which are ubiquitous in urban and rural areas alike. Another staple is
sate (satay), skewered and grilled meats like chicken, goat, or beef, typically served with peanut sauce or sweet soy sauce and commonly accompanied by rice cakes (
lontong) or raw shallot and chili. Vendors also specialize in
martabak, both sweet (filled with chocolate, cheese, or nuts) and savory (egg, minced meat, spices) and
nasi goreng tek‑tek, a version of fried rice cooked in a large wok with distinctive "tek‑tek" sizzling sounds. Breakfast and comfort options include
bubur ayam (chicken congee) widely available from morning into evening, while dessert and refreshment come in the form of sweet, iced beverages such as
es cendol (coconut-based drink with green rice flour jelly) and
es doger (shaved ice with coconut, fermented cassava, and milk). Pedagang kaki lima are deeply entrenched throughout Indonesia, serving as a vital pillar of the
informal economy. In cities like
Yogyakarta, over 1,300 vendors operate across 14 districts, predominantly run by individuals with only a high school education, many of whom are women aged 17 to 65, earning less than IDR 4 million per month and working long hours (6–10 hours daily) from their own modest capital. National figures suggest Indonesia's informal sector, including hawkers and micro-enterprises, accounts for over 60% of the workforce and comprises around 99% of all businesses, forming a resilient economic backbone, particularly during crises such as the
COVID-19 pandemic. However, the spread of hawkers has prompted urban-management challenges. Sidewalk occupations by vendors have led to narrowed pedestrian paths, illegal parking, and litter issues, causing conflicts with the public and municipal authorities. Local governments have initiated relocation programs and regulations, such as
Surabaya’s 2014 ordinance mandates designated vending zones, while
Sidoarjo has attempted temporary relocations in residential areas, but these actions have seen mixed results, with income losses of up to 50% reported among relocated vendors, who often resist moves to less strategic or poorly supported sites.
Other countries Balut is a popular dish sold by hawkers in the
Philippines,
Laos,
Cambodia, and
Vietnam. Another common food sold by hawkers in
Southeast Asia is
taho, which is soft tofu served with syrup. In both
China and
Hong Kong, hawkers' inventories often include
fish ball,
beef ball,
butzaigo,
roasted chestnuts, and
stinky tofu. In
Singapore and
Malaysia, these stands have become so successful that many have chosen to set up shop more permanently in a
hawker centre. Across Asia, stalls have been set up with little to no government monitoring. Due to health concerns and other liability problems, the food culture has been seriously challenged in
Indonesia, though without marked success. In Hong Kong, the
lease versus
licensed hawker restrictions have put a burden on this mobile food culture. The term
jau gwei (literally:
running from ghosts) has been used to describe vendors often running away from local police. File:Wayanad churam KERALA.jpg|A cart hawker in
Wayanad, India File:Street vendors, durians, Jul 2014.jpg|Street vendors selling
durians out of a car in
Johor Bahru, Malaysia File:Batagor vendor 4.jpg|Cart hawkers selling
Indonesian cuisine in
Jakarta, Indonesia File:Kobandravina dessert snack food Antananarivo Madagascar.jpg|Vendors in
Antananarivo,
Madagascar selling
koba.
Europe Victorian London sold in
Hampstead, north London in 1877. Photograph in
Street Life in London. The
costermongers of
London,
England were at their peak in the 19th century. Organised, yet semi-obvious, they were ubiquitous, and their
street cries could be heard everywhere. The soft drinks company,
R. White's Lemonade, began in 1845 with Robert and Mary White selling their drinks around south London in a
wheelbarrow. Muffin men, a type of hawker who would travel door to door selling
English muffins as a snack bread, also became common in 19th century London.
Latin America and Caribbean . Street vendors in
Latin America are known in local
Spanish and
Portuguese variously as
vendedores ambulantes ("mobile vendors") or simply
ambulantes, a term also used in Italy. In Argentina they are known as
manteros. In Brazil, they are also known as "camelôs". Some
ambulantes set up in a fixed location while others are mobile. Some ambulantes sell their goods
door-to-door.
Puestos are
market stalls or stands. Street vendors face various regulations and fees. There are sometimes disputes between established merchants and ambulantes. Bribes are also a problem. Many vendors operate illegally. In order to avoid overwhelming tourists or shoppers, ambulantes are known to establish territories and limit their numbers. Thieves stealing their goods can be a problem.
Argentina . The street vendors in Argentina are known as
manteros, after the Spanish word for blanket,
manta. They sell varied products in an
informal way, in most cases placing them over a blanket. They are, in their most part,
illegal immigrants without documents and victims of
human trafficking, subject to
forced labor. They work at the sidewalks of locations with an important daily traffic, such as the
Once railway station, the
Retiro railway station, and the
Florida Street. This commerce poses an illegal competition with the regular retail shops. According to the
Confederación Argentina de la Mediana Empresa (CAME), as of December 2013 there were 463 manteros working in Once, 16.8% of the total in Buenos Aires. The daily sales of
manteros are worth 300 million pesos in Buenos Aires, and 52 million in Once. A single
mantero may earn between 2,000 and 3,500 in a day.
Brazil , Brazil
Camelô is a
Brazilian Portuguese name given to street vendors in major
Brazilian
cities. Law enforcement often enters into conflict – sometimes physical – with camelôs, for selling low-quality products (often imported from
Asia), making improper use of public space (blocking
sidewalks and
pedestrian traffic), and for not paying the same
taxes that licensed retailers pay. Their presence is considered to be a result of the alarming rise in
unemployment, although their lifestyle might be better referred to as "subemployment." Many people who work as camelôs sell their products knowing that they are of low quality, and charge high prices nonetheless. The word is borrowed from the
French camelot, meaning "merchant of low-quality goods", and the term
marreteiro is also sometimes used. The difference between camelôs and so-called "ambulantes" is that camelôs have fixed "storefronts" on a particular sidewalk, whereas "ambulantes" sell their wares throughout an area.
Caribbean In the English-speaking Caribbean, hawkers are commonly referred to as
hagglers or informal commercial importers. They sell items in small roadside stands, public transit hubs, or other places where consumers would want items such as snacks, cigarettes, phone cards, or other less expensive items.
Higglers often break larger items into small individual consumable portions for re-sale and use. Buying these items from more traditional vendors, farmers, or merchants for re-sale via their informal network in communities.
Cuba In
Cuban music and
Latin American music, a
pregón (announcement or street-seller's cry) is a type of song based on the hawking by street vendor of their goods ("canto de los vendedores ambulantes").
Guatemala In
Antigua, women, many from the
Maya (including
Kaqchikel people) and
Ladino ethnic groups, peddle
handicrafts. Some sell textiles such a
po't (blouses) and
su't. In 2003 it was estimated that there were 199,328 street vendors in Mexico City. In
Oaxaca, Mexico there are many
tortilla vendors. File:Vendedor ambulante de parrilla.jpg|Vendor of
parrilla in
Maracaibo, Venezuela File:Vendedor Ambulante Rio.jpg|"Camelô" in
Rio, Brazil File:Venta ambulante subsa..jpg|Street vendor with a string and sheet set-up allowing for quick departure. File:VENDEDORA AMBULANTE.JPG|Street vendor
North America In large cities across
North America, particularly in
New York City, hawkers are commonly known as
street vendors, who sell snack items, such as deep-fried bananas, cotton candy, fried noodles, beverages like bubble tea, and ice cream, along with non-edible items, such as jewelry, clothes, books, and paintings. Hawkers are also found selling various items to fans at a
sports venue; more commonly, this person is simply referred to as a
stadium vendor. In the early 20th century, a street corner hawker of hot potatoes and pies could be referred to as an
all-hot man. ==See also==