Based on the definition by the Inter-NGO Programme on Street Children and Street Youth, 1983, a street child refers to "any boy or girl…for whom the street in the widest sense of the word…has become his or her habitual abode and/or source of livelihood, and who is inadequately protected, supervised, or directed by responsible adults".[1] One recent U.S. State Department study reported an estimated 20,000 children on the streets of Thailand's major urban centres.[2]
According to a research by the Foundation for the Better Life for Children, the number rose rapidly from 20,000 in 2006 to 30,000 in 2010.[3] This suggests an escalating scale and severity of the problem. These children are not restricted to only the Thai nationals; a significant portion of them are Khmer, Burmese, Laos and Vietnamese. Roughly 40 percent of the street children in Bangkok surveyed in 2008–2010 by Friends-International are Khmer, Burmese and Vietnamese.[4]