What is a child soldier?

Child soldiers are persons under the age of 18, who participate directly or indirectly in military or political armed conflicts. Persons under the age of 18 who are drafted to the national military or an non-governmental military organization are also child persons,no matter if it is in times of peace.

How many children serve as soldiers?

The number of child soldiers in the warzones around the world is estimated to be about 300.000, both boys and girls. Besides several hundreds of thousands are estimated to be in other countries’ military, prepared to be sent into action if war should break out.