Child Soldiers - Stats & World Map

For those wanting more information, here are a few sites with statistics on child soldiers worldwide:

• Human Rights Watch - http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/crp/fact_sheet.html
• Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers - http://www.child-soldiers.org/childsoldiers/child-soldiers
• Amnesty International - http://www.amnestyusa.org/Children/Child-Soldiers/page.do?id=1051047&n1=3&n2=78&n3=1270 (check out the photo exhibit)
• Report on Child Soldiers in Africa - http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/chilsold.htm
• BBC World Services (interviews with several ex-child soliders) - http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/childrensrights/childrenofconflict/soldier.shtml

I found this map from 1998 that highlighted all the countries where children were being forced to fight in organized armies.  While this is 10 years old my guess is most of these areas are in similar places today (look at this map showing 2004-2007, it's a little harder to read.)  I've always thought of child soldiers as an African problem, but it's clear from this map that much of Asia, the Middle East and South America have this as well.