NATIONAL STATISTICS

* The total number of child labourers are between 35,000-50,000. An additional 16,000 children dropped out of school in 1999-2000. (CRCA, e-mail to GMIS, 15 October 2000)

* For the year 2000, the ILO projects that there will be 1,000 economically active children, most of them boys between the ages of 10-14, representing 0.31% of this age group. (ILO, International Labour Office - Bureau of Statistics, Economically Active Population 1950-2010, STAT Working Paper, ILO 1997)

* In 1995, there were 4,000 economically active children, approximately 1,000 girls and 2,000 boys between the ages of 10-14, representing 1.11% of this age group. (ILO, International Labour Office - Bureau of Statistics, Economically Active Population 1950-2010, STAT Working Paper, ILO 1997, with numbers rounded to the nearest thousand)

* There are reports that children are trafficked and forced to work abroad as prostitutes and beggars. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 1999, 25 February 2000)

* Around 3,000 Albanian children are trafficked to Italy and Greece and are used for begging and cleaning windows and cars without payment. (CRCA, The Vicious Circle, 2000)

* Official Italian statistics reveal that there are approximately 900 child prostitutes in Italy being trafficked from Albania. (CRCA, The Vicious Circle, 2000)

* Of the 1,880 to 2,500 minors who worked as street prostitutes in Italy, 1,500-2,300 had been trafficked predominantly from Albania, and Nigeria. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 1999, 25 February 2000)

* In Greece, more than 40% of the minors in prostitution are from neighbouring or regional countries, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Albania and Iraq, which are suffering from conflicts and lack of social cohesion. (ECPAT International, A Step Forward, 1999)

* More than 8,000 Albanian girls are prostituted in Italy, and more than 30% of them are under 18 years. (CATW Fact Book, citing G.J. Koja, "8000 Albanian Girls Work as Prostitutes in Italy", HURINet, 25 July 1998)

* The Government investigates and prosecutes trafficking, and there were 144 prosecutions in 2000 for violating the trafficking law. (US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, July 12, 2001)

ADULT STATISTICS

* NGOs estimate that there are 30,000 Albanian women currently working abroad as prostitutes. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 1999, 25 February 2000)

* The number 30,000 should not be taken seriously and is believed as not being true. (CRCA, e-mail to GMIS, 15 October 2000)

* Recent reports from the refugee camps of Albania tell of the frequent disappearances of young women and girls from the refugee camps. It appears that these girls are being trafficked for sexual purposes to Western Europe by criminal gangs. (ECPAT International, A Step Forward, 1999)

GENERAL JUVENILE CRIME STATISTICS

* In 1998, there were 753 reported cases of juvenile crime, representing 12.64% of all criminal cases. The specific offences were: 116 cases of murder (11.53% of all murders), 26 cases of serious assault (14.20% of all cases), 503 cases of all types of theft (23.41% of all cases), 214 cases of aggravated theft (24.97% of all cases), 118 cases of robbery and violent theft (21.73% of all cases), 101 cases of breaking and entering (32.11% of all cases), 93 cases of theft of motor cars (20.23% of all cases), 188 cases of other theft (22.89% of all cases), 2 cases of fraud (10.00% of all cases), 0 cases of counterfeit currency offences (0% of all cases), 7 cases of drug offences (1.58% of all cases) (INTERPOL, International Crime Statistics for 1998, citing National Statistics)

RECRUITMENT LAWS AND REGULATIONS

* Every Albanian man and woman over the age of 18 years is liable for military service. (Guy Goodwin-Gill and Ilene Cohn, Child Soldiers, The Role of Children in Armed Conflicts, A Study on Behalf of the Henry Dunant Institute, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994)

NOTES FROM PREVIOUS ARMED CONFLICTS

* Children were alleged to have been involved in armed activity during the uprising in 1997. In addition, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) reportedly recruited children under 18 for the armed conflict in neighbouring Kosovo. (CSUCS, Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)

* It is believed that the minimum age for entry into military schools in Albania is 14 years. (CSUCS, Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing information provided by Natasa Dokovska, Journalists for the Rights of Women, Children and the Environment)

* During the uprising of 1997, it was reported that children as young as 10 were among the looters and seen carrying arms. It has been reported that the KLA recruited soldiers, including children, on Albanian territory during the Kosovo crisis. (CSUCS, Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing Radda Barnen, http://www.rb.se)

ASSORTED STATISTICS

* Around 300 children are on the streets of Tirana selling cigarettes, sweets etc. (CRCA, Dr. Aurela Pano, Albanian Children and Children's Rights in Albania, 04/11/1999)

SPECIFIC SECTORS

* Street Vending - In Tirana and other cities, it is common to see children selling cigarettes and other items on the street. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2000, February 2001)

* Begging - Within the country, Romani children often work as beggars. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 1999, 25 February 2000)