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Map 6: Unstable environments

For a higher resolution, zoomable version of this map, please see the PDF file.
Maps were revised after publication of The State of the World's Children 2000.

Conflict and disaster Major armed conflicts 1998 Children under 15 reported fighting in major armed conflicts 1997/1998 in either government forces, armed opposition groups, or both Natural disasters Jan.-Oct. 1999 Landmines or unexploded ordnance threaten civilians Sources: M. Sollenberg, P. Wallensteen and A. Jato, 'Major armed conflicts', SIPRI Yearbook 1999: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, Oxford University Press, 1999; Brett and McCallin, Children: The Invisible Soldiers, Rädda Barnen, 1998; UN OCHA; UN Mine Action Service.	The toll of war Child victims of armed conflict 1990s Source: UNICEF; UNHCR; US Committee for Refugees.
Anti-personnel landmine producers China, Cuba, Dem. People's Rep. of Korea, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, Pakistan, Rep. of Korea, Russian Federation, Singapore, Turkey, United States, Viet Nam, Yugoslavia Source: International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 1999.	Sources: International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 1999; UNICEF
This map does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties.	Approximately 540 million children in the world - one in four - live in dangerous and unstable situations Children and women are the majority of the civilians who suffer, physically and psychologically, when their country is ripped apart by war and conflict. Children - some as young as 10 - are forced or coerced into services by governments and /or armed opposition groups. Environmental catastrophes, such as floods, hurricanes and earthquakes, also have grave effects on children.

General Notes

Map 6. Unstable environments: Using the SIPRI Yearbook 1999, a 'major armed conflict' is defined as prolonged use of armed force between the military of two or more governments, or of one government and at least one organized armed group, incurring the battle-related deaths of at least 1,000 people during the entire conflict and in which the incompatibility concerns government and/or territory. Information on child soldiers refers to children under 15 reported as fighting in major armed conflicts in 1997/1998 in either government forces, armed opposition groups, or both. Data on child soldiers is not easy to verify, especially in countries with no government system of birth registration that would allow to confirm a child's age. In some of the European countries shown, landmines or unexploded ordnance date back to the Second World War and may be less of a threat to civilians than in other countries. Using information from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the map shows many of the natural disasters of concern to the humanitarian community, although not all countries where a natural disaster took place are shown.

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