Modern day slavery exists all over the world and the numbers are much higher in the developed nations than estimated earlier. While the prevalence of slavery is highest in North Korea, India also has an alarming number, according to a report on modern slavery.
The Global Slavery Index published annually by the Walk Free Foundation estimates the number of slaves worldwide to be 40.3 million. The good news for India is that Walk Free’s estimates the number of slaves has fallen to 8 million, from 18.4 million in its 2016 report.
Modern slavery refers to “situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, abuse of power, or deception.” This incorporates various forms of slavery, including sexual exploitation, forced labor, child labor, and forced marriage.
Though the total number of slaves is the same as last year, the Walk Free Foundation which produced the report along with the International Labor Organization has given break-up of individual countries this year.
With improvements in methodology the foundation has more accurate country-level figures estimates.
- North Korea has highest prevalence of modern slavery in the world, with an estimated one in 10 people (2.6 million) forced to work in 2016.
- Followed by Eritrea, Burundi, the Central African Republic and Afghanistan, countries with oppressive regimes.
- 403,000 people in United States – or 1 in every 800 – are living in modern slavery, seven-times higher than it previously believed.
- In the UK, 136,000 slaves, almost 12-times higher than previous figures.
- Walk Free Foundation says the reason for the dramatic increases in its slavery estimates for some countries is that the latest report uses far more data sources than previously.
The figures draw on surveys carried out in 48 countries (nearly twice the number of countries as in previous years) and face-to-face interviews with 70,000 people. - As a result, the slavery estimates for other countries, including Australia, France, the Netherlands and other European nations, have increased. However, the report notes that these countries are also those whose governments are doing most to tackle the problem.
- The Index now estimates the current number of slaves in a country, whereas previously, its figures were for the number of slaves in a country over a five-year period.
The Walk Free Foundation, a global human rights organization with a mission to end modern slavery in a generation, was founded by Australian philanthropists, Andrew and Nicola Forrest.
Walk Free notes that, because of the changes to its methodology, the national slavery figures are not comparable with previous editions of the Global Slavery Index.