NATIONAL STATISTICS

* For the year 2000, the ILO projects that there will be 1,228,000 economically active children, 534,000 girls and 694,000 boys between the ages of 10-14, representing 22.94% 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 1,236,000 economically active children between the ages of 10-14, representing 24.51% of this age group. Of these, 538,000 were girls and 698,000 were boys. (ILO, International Labour Office - Bureau of Statistics, Economically Active Population 1950-2010, STAT Working Paper, ILO 1997)

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

* According to UNICEF figures, of the 62% children not enrolled in primary schools, many work in agriculture with their parents. (Human Rights Watch/Asia, Burma: Children's Rights and the Rule of the Law, submission to the UN CRC, January 1997)

ADULT STATISTICS

* Since 1992, the military has forced at least 2 million people across the country to work without pay on the construction of roads, railways and bridges. (Human Rights Watch/Asia, "Burma: Children's Rights and the Rule of the Law", submission to the UN CRC, January 1997)

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

* Allegations of the use of child labour include reports that children are being used as forced labourers in infrastructure development projects and military support operations. There are also reports that children are being drafted as soldiers. (US Dept of State, Report On Labour Practices In Burma, 2000)

* Widespread forced labour, including forced child labour, continued to contribute materially to the construction and maintenance not only of irrigation facilities important to the cultivation of some export crops including rice, but also of roads and some railroads important for the transportation of exports to ports. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 1999, 25 February 2000)

* The army raids villages and towns for forced portering, whereby they force villagers to carry its supplies and ammunition for offensives in the border regions or for routine operations. (UN Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, June 1996)

* Juntas force locals to work on commercial projects for the army such as paddy and fishpond and tree-planting operations, which the local farmers have to build and maintain. (UN Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, June 1996)

* Women and children are randomly picked by the local police or the military for carrying heavy loads of ammunition, food and other supplies between army camps. They are not paid for their work. (ICFTU, Burma: SLORC's Private Slave Camp, June 1995)

NATIONAL STATISTICS

* In 1996, there were almost 200,000 foreign children, mostly boys from Burma, Laos and Cambodia, who had been trafficked in to Thailand for prostitution and work at construction sites and sweatshops. (CATW Fact Book, citing "Trafficking of children on the rise", Bangkok Post, 22 July, 1998, citing IPSR)

* The number of Burmese women and girls travelling to Thailand through Mae Sai to enter the sex industry is increasing. 60% of them are under 18 years of age. (CATW Fact Book, citing Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, "Influx of Burmese sex workers", Bangkok Post, 2 June 1997)

* There are at least 50,000 Burmese girls and women working in Thailand as prostitutes at any one time. (Report Cites Burma’s Child Rights Abuses, ECPAT Bulletin, Vol. 4/1, 1996-97)

* 10,000 are trafficked annually from Burma to Thailand. (World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation, August 1996)

* From Burma, it was estimated in 1994 that as many as 20,000 to 30,000 women and girls had been trafficked primarily into brothels in Thailand, with 10,000 new recruits being added each year. (CWA, Ahmad Saufian, Pusat Kajian Perlindungan Anak, "Child Labour in Jermals", Child Workers in Asia, Vol.15, No. 2, May - August 1999)

ADULT STATISTICS

* 1 million women trafficked in Thailand from Laos, Burma, China, and Vietnam. (CATW - Asia
Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific, 1996)

* Women from Burma's Shan state and China's southern province of Yunnan constitute 16% of the 77,000 women in the sex industry in Thailand. (CATW Fact Book, citing "Academic urges action in war against flesh trade", The Nation, 28 May 1997, citing IPSR, Kritaya Archavanitkul, The Passage of Women in Neighbouring Countries into the Sex Trade in Thailand)

* 20,000-30,000 Burmese women are in prostitution in Thailand. (CATW-Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific, 1996)

* There have been 200,000 Burmese women trafficked to Karachi, Pakistan. (CATW Fact Book, citing SANLAAP India, Indrani Sinha, "Paper on Globalization & Human Rights")

* 50% of the prostituted women in Chiang Rai are Burmese. Thousands of indigenous Burmese women from Shan State in the north and from Keng Tung in eastern Burma have been sold into brothels in Bangkok and throughout Thailand. (CATW-Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific, 1996)

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

* Burma is a source country for thousands of women and young girls who are trafficked into the commercial sex industries of neighbouring countries. There are reliable reports that many women and children in border areas, where the Government's control is limited, were forced or lured into working as prostitutes in Thailand and China. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2000, February 2001)

* In addition to Thailand, Burmese adults are trafficked to China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan. While most observers believe the number of victims is at least several thousand per year, there are no reliable statistics available on the total number of trafficked persons. (US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, July 12, 2001)

* Increasing children found begging have come to Thailand from countries like Cambodia, Burma and Bangladesh. These children are usually between 6-10 years of age who either travelled to Thailand on their own or were brought by beggar gangs and agents. (ILO-IPEC, Children in Prostitution, Pornography and Illicit Activities, September 1999)

* The number of Burmese, Cambodian, Vietnamese and Chinese children enticed into or forced into prostitution in Bangkok and other cities in Thailand, increased during 1997. (EI, EI Barometer on Human and Trade Union Rights in the Education Sector, 1998)

* Burmese girls trafficked to Thailand come from Chiang Tung, Ta Khi Lek, and Yong, and come from minority groups such as the Tai Yai and Mon. (CATW Fact Book, citing Poona Antaseeda "More foreign workers join sex industry as fewer Thai girls enter flesh trade", Bangkok Post, 24 November 1997)

* Mae Sai, Thailand and surrounding villages act as a funnel for trafficking of labour to Thailand from Burma and southern China. (US Dept of Labor, Prostitution of Children, 1996)

* A 1996 study, conducted at 40 commercial venues in Bangkok, Kulachada and Chaipipat, found trafficking women and children from the Mekong countries - China, Burma, Laos and Cambodia to be increasing. The largest groups of newly trafficked women into the sex industry are from Burma’s Shan state, and minority women from the Northwest border areas. ("New law targets human trafficking", The Nation, 30 November 1997)

* Bangladeshi and Burmese women and children are trafficked to Pakistan. (Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Action, The Flesh Trade Report, 1995-1996)

* Malaysia is a receiving country for trafficked women from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, China, India, Taiwan, Singapore, Burma, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Laos. (CATW-Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific, 1996)

* The military and political situations in Burma, has led to an increase in migration, which has made women extremely vulnerable to trafficking for prostitution. (CATW Fact Book, citing SANLAAP India, Indrani Sinha, "Paper on Globalization & Human Rights")

NATIONAL STATISTICS

* In 1996, there were almost 200,000 foreign children from Burma, Laos and Cambodia who had been trafficked into Thailand for prostitution and work at construction sites and sweatshops. (CATW Fact Book, citing "Trafficking of children on the rise", Bangkok Post, 22 July 1998, citing IPSR)

ADULT STATISTICS

* From Burma, it was estimated in 1994 that as many as 20,000 to 30,000 women and girls had been trafficked primarily into brothels in Thailand, with 10,000 new recruits being added each year. (CWA, Ahmad Saufian, Pusat Kajian Perlindungan Anak, "Child Labour in Jermals", Child Workers in Asia, Vol.15, No. 2, May - August 1999)

* The number of Burmese women and girls travelling to Thailand through Mae Sai to enter the sex industry is increasing. 60% of them are under 18 years of age. (CATW Fact Book, citing Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, "Influx of Burmese sex workers", Bangkok Post, 2 June 1997)

* Thai officials estimate that there are 20,000 women and girls trafficked from Burma into Thai brothels with 10,000 more imported each year. (CATW, Dorchen Leidholdt, Sex Industry Survivor and Coalition address United Nations General Assembly, Coalition Report, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1997)

* There are at least 50,000 Burmese girls and women working in Thailand as prostitutes at any one time. ("Report Cites Burma’s Child Rights Abuses", ECPAT Bulletin, Vol. 4/1, 1996-97)

* Women from Burma's Shan state and China's southern province of Yunnan constitute 16% of the 77,000 women in the sex industry in Thailand.(CATW Fact Book, citing "Academic urges action in war against flesh trade", The Nation, 28 May, 1997, citing IPSR, Kritaya Archavanitkul, The Passage of Women in Neighbouring Countries into the Sex Trade in Thailand)

* 50% of the prostituted women in Chiang Rai are Burmese. Thousands of indigenous Burmese women from Shan State in the north and from Keng Tung in Eastern Burma have been sold into brothels in Bangkok and throughout Thailand. (CATW-Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific, 1996)

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

* There also is internal trafficking of women and girls from areas of extreme poverty to areas where prostitution is common. Men and boys reportedly are trafficked to other countries, primarily to Thailand, for sexual exploitation and for other purposes, but this appears to be a small percentage of the overall flow. (US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, July 12, 2001)

* Girls are lured from Burma for the sex markets in Thailand or to be diverted to Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. ("Human Trafficking: Gangs make Thailand a regional hub", Bangkok Post, 6 September, 2000, reprinted in Stop Trafficking Archive, September 2000)

* Trafficking in women and children is a severe problem. Burma is a source country for thousands of women and young girls who are trafficked into the commercial sex industries of neighbouring countries. There are reliable reports that many women and children in border areas, where the government's control is limited, were forced or lured into working as prostitutes in Thailand and China. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 1999, 25 February 2000)

* Child prostitution and trafficking in girls for the purpose of forced prostitution - especially Shan girls who were sent or lured to Thailand, continues to be a major problem. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 1999, 25 February 2000)

* Malaysian police believe that the overwhelming number of prostitutes in Malaysia are foreigners from Indonesia, the Philippines, Burma, Thailand, and China. These women often work as karaoke hostesses, guest relations officers, and masseuses. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 1999, 25 February 2000)

* Child prostitution of young females, especially from ethnic minorities, is rampant. (US Dept of State, Human Rights Report, 1998)

* Girls from Burma, aged 12-18, are in more demand for the sex industry in Thailand since traffickers are luring fewer girls from northern Thailand. (CATW Fact Book, citing "More foreign workers join sex industry as fewer Thai girls enter flesh trade", Bangkok Post, 24 November 1997, citing Wanchai Boonphacra of CPCR)

* There is a reported increase in the number of children of both sexes working in Burma's expanding sex industry. (Human Rights Watch/Asia, "Burma: Children's Rights and the Rule of the Law", submission to the UN CRC, January 1997)

* The number of Burmese, Cambodian, Vietnamese and Chinese children enticed into or forced into prostitution in Bangkok and other cities in Thailand, increased during 1997. (EI, EI Barometer on Human and Trade Union Rights in the Education Sector, 1998)

* A 1996 study, conducted at 40 commercial venues in Bangkok, Kulachada and Chaipipat, found trafficking women and children from the Mekong countries - China, Burma, Laos and Cambodia to be increasing. The largest groups of newly trafficked women into the sex industry are from Burma’s Shan state, and minority women from the Northwest border areas. ("New law targets human trafficking", The Nation, 30 November 1997)

* The military and political situation in Burma, has led to an increase in migration, which has made women extremely vulnerable to trafficking for prostitution. (CATW Fact Book, citing SANLAAP India, Indrani Sinha, "Paper on Globalization & Human Rights")

GENERAL JUVENILE CRIME STATISTICS

* In 1998 there were 859 reported cases of juvenile crime, representing 0.53% of all criminal cases. The specific offences were: 22 cases of murder (2.35% of all murders), 135 cases of serious assault (1.58% of all cases), 150 cases of all types of theft (2.38% of all cases),10 cases of aggravated theft (1.12% of all cases), 0 cases of theft of motor cars (2.13% of all cases), 143 cases of other theft (2.70% of all cases), 3 cases of fraud (0.09% of all cases), 9 cases of drug offences (0.26% of all cases) (INTERPOL, International Crime Statistics for 1998, citing National Statistics)

NATIONAL STATISTICS

* The total number of child soldiers is estimated to be greater than 50 000. (Rädda Barnen, Childwar database, citing Rachel Brett and Margaret McCallin, Children: The Invisible Soldiers, 1998; MTA/UWSA: based on minimum figure of 10% quoted for other opposition groups known to use child soldiers)

RECRUITMENT LAWS AND STATISTICS

* In the Shan State, armed groups of the Shan ethnic minority have also used children as soldiers. In February 2001, a gathering of representatives of the Restoration Council of Shan State and Shan State Army at Loi Taileng unanimously passed a resolution that the draft age would henceforth be 18-45 in place of 16-40 as practiced earlier. (CSUCS, Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001 citing BurmaNet, 6/2/01)

GOVERNMENT FORCE STATISTICS

* There are an estimated 25,000 child soldiers in the armed forces. (ICFTU, Free Labour World, October 1996)

* Tatmadav, the government armed forces, comprises 10-66% children in each battalion. (Child War Rädda Barnen, citing UN, Graca Machel, Case Study on Myanmar, 1994-1995)

OPPOSITION GROUP STATISTICS

* The Karen National Liberation Army (armed wing of the KNU) is believed to recruit many child soldiers. One battalion commander estimated that there were perhaps 2,000 boy soldiers in the KNLA when it was at full strength, although KNU forces are now much depleted. (CSUCS, Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001 citing Radda Barnen, Children of War, Newsletter No. 1/99 quoting an AP press release, http://www.rb.se)

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

* Burma is a country of origin for trafficking of persons, primarily of women and girls, to Thailand and other countries as factory workers and household servants, and for sexual exploitation. (US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, July 12, 2001)

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

* In the urban informal sector, child workers are found mostly in food processing, selling, refuse collecting, light manufacturing, and as tea shop attendants. According to government statistics, 6% of urban children work, but only 4% of those earn wages. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2000, February 2001)

* Exploitative and dangerous forms of child labour had been widely reported, including work on infrastructure development projects, in military support operations, and in the sex industry. (US Dept of State, Report On Labour Practices In Burma, 2000)

* The Special Rapporteur also noted that children were often forced to work on military bases constructing or maintaining barracks, bunkers or fences, or performing menial tasks such as cleaning, weeding, and fetching firewood and water. (US Dept of State, Report On Labour Practices In Burma, 2000)

* Hundreds of cases in which forced labour was exacted during August 1998-May 1999 for portering, military camp work, sentry duty, and other support work for the military all over Kayin (Karen) State, Kayah State, Pegu Division, Arakan State, Shan State, Chin State and Tanintharyi (Tenasserim) Division. The cases include allegations that women and children were used as human mine sweepers and shields. (US Dept of State, Report On Labour Practices In Burma, 2000)

* In 1996, there were almost 200,000 foreign children from Burma, Laos and Cambodia who had been trafficked in to Thailand for prostitution and work at construction sites and sweatshops. (CATW Fact Book, citing "Trafficking of children on the rise", Bangkok Post, 22 July 1998, citing IPSR)

* Girls are particularly sought after in such areas as the making of lacquer-ware, embroideries (kalaga), cigarettes and cigars and gem polishing. Boys meanwhile, work in the construction and domestic labour sectors as well as in markets, restaurants and as petty vendors along railway tracks. (Human Rights Watch/Asia, "Burma: Children's Rights and the Rule of the Law", submission to the UN CRC, January 1997)

SPECIFIC SECTORS

* Begging - Increasing numbers of children found begging have come to Thailand from countries like Cambodia, Burma and Bangladesh. These children are usually between 6-10 years who either travelled to Thailand on their own or were brought by beggar gangs and agents.(ILO-IPEC, Children in Prostitution, Pornography and Illicit Activities, September 1999)

* Brick Breaking - Almost 200 children are allegedly being forced to split stones. (US Dept of State, Report On Labour Practices In Burma, 2000)

* Commercial Agriculture - The COI Report included allegations that child labour was used to cultivate or produce a variety of goods including beans, bricks, fish, rice, shrimp, and wood and an NGO recently reported that children have been forced to work alongside men on tiger prawn farms. (US Dept of State, Report On Labour Practices In Burma, 2000)

* Construction - Many children, usually between the age of 13-15 years, are forced to help maintain dams in Maungdaw. Fathers often send their children to work in their place, and children are required to go if there are no adult males in the family. (US Dept of State, Report On Labour Practices In Burma, 2000)

* Construction - Many women and children were forced to work on constructing four major dykes in the Yebu township. (US Dept of State, Report On Labour Practices In Burma, 2000)

* Construction - Children from 8-15 years of age made up approximately 10% of the workforce on a temple construction project in northern Kunhing. (US Dept of State, Report On Labour Practices In Burma, 2000)

* Construction - An April 1999 report by the Shan Human Rights Foundation stated that military authorities in Kunhing township were forcing many children, some as young as 7-8 years old, to break stones for paving roads. (US Dept of State, Report On Labour Practices In Burma, 2000)

* Construction - In Tada-Oo Township, the Chairman stated that everyone, including children, had been recruited to build a 20-mile road between Myo Tha Town and Tada-Oo Town, which is scheduled to open at the end of 1999. (US Dept of State, Report On Labour Practices In Burma, 2000)

* Construction - In 1996, there were almost 200,000 foreign children from Burma, Laos and Cambodia who had been trafficked into Thailand for prostitution and work at construction sites and sweatshops. (CATW Fact Book, citing "Trafficking of children on the rise", Bangkok Post, 22 July 1998, citing IPSR)

* Restaurants and Hotels - There is an increase in the number of children working in hotels and restaurants in the tourism sector. (Human Rights Watch/Asia, "Burma: Children's Rights and the Rule of the Law", submission to the UN CRC, January 1997)

* Street Children - There are an estimated 10,000 street children between 5-15 years. (ILO, Protecting Children in the World of Work, October 1997)

* Portering - Women and children are randomly picked by local police or the military for carrying heavy loads of ammunition, food and other supplies between army camps. They are not paid for their work. (ICFTU, Burma: SLORC's Private Slave Camp, June 1995)