Slavery Index

According to the index, the prevalence of modern slavery is highest in…

• MAURITANIA
• HAITI
• PAKISTAN
• INDIA
• NEPAL
• MOLDOVA
• BENIN
• COTE D'IVOIRE
• THE GAMBIA
• GABON
   

However, when considered in absolute terms, the countries with the highest numbers of enslaved people are…

• INDIA
• CHINA
• PAKISTAN
• NIGERIA
• ETHIOPIA
• RUSSIA
• THAILAND
• DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
• MYANMAR
• BANGLADESH

Taken together, these ten countries account for

76%

of the total estimate of 29.8 million enslaved people.

OVERVIEW

The Global Slavery Index provides a ranking of 162 countries, reflecting a combined measure of three factors: estimated prevalence of modern slavery by population, a measure of child marriage, and a measure of human trafficking in and out of a country. The measure is heavily weighted to reflect the first factor, prevalence. A number one ranking is the worst, 160 is the best.

Mauritania, a West African nation with deeply entrenched hereditary slavery, is ranked number 1 in the Index. This reflects the high prevalence of slavery in Mauritania – it is estimated that there are between 140,000 – 160,000 people enslaved in Mauritania, a country with a population of just 3.8 million. This ranking also reflects high levels of child marriage, and to a lesser extent, human trafficking.

Haiti, a Caribbean nation plagued by conflict, natural disaster and with deeply entrenched practices of child slavery (the restavek system), is second on the Index. This reflects high prevalence of modern slavery – an estimated 200,000 – 220,000 people are in modern slavery in Haiti, a country with a population of just 10.2 million. This ranking also reflects high levels of child marriage, and human trafficking from Haiti itself.

Pakistan, with its porous borders to Afghanistan, large populations of displaced persons and weak rule of law, is third on the Index. It is estimated that there are between 2,000,000 – 2,200,000 people in various forms of modern slavery in Pakistan, a country with a population of over 179 million.

Iceland, Ireland and the United Kingdom are tied with a ranking of 160 in the Index. This does not mean these countries are slavery free. On the contrary, it is estimated that there are between 4,200 – 4,600 people in modern slavery in the United Kingdom alone. The estimated size of the problem in Ireland and Iceland is much smaller, with Ireland estimated to have 300 – 340 people in modern slavery, and Iceland less than 100. An analysis of the UK response on this issue confirms much more can be done, as the Government response is fragmented and disjointed, and that there have been alarming systemic failures, including the loss of trafficked children from care.

Estimated number of population in modern slavery

The Global Slavery Index also provides insight into the estimated absolute numbers of people in modern slavery, in 162 countries. When the estimated number of enslaved people is considered in absolute terms as a single factor, the country ranking shifts considerably.

The countries with the highest numbers of enslaved people are India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Taken together, these countries account for 76% of the total estimate of 29.8 million in modern slavery.

The country with the largest estimated number of people in modern slavery is India, which is estimated to have between 13,300,000 and 14,700,000 people enslaved. The India country study suggests that while this involves the exploitation of some foreign nationals, by far the largest proportion of this problem is the exploitation of Indians citizens within India itself, particularly through debt bondage and bonded labour.

The country with the second highest absolute numbers of enslaved is China, with an estimated 2,800,000 to 3,100,000 in modern slavery. The China country study suggests that this includes the forced labour of men, women and children in many parts of the economy, including domestic servitude and forced begging, the sexual exploitation of women and children, and forced marriage.

The country with the third highest absolute number in modern slavery is Pakistan, with an estimated 2,000,000 to 2,200,000 people in modern slavery.

COUNTRY STUDIES

20 Country Studies, for the worst 10 and best 10 countries by prevalence, are contained in the report. These studies describe the problem, government responses, and action needed to address modern slavery in these countries. Supplementary Country Studies are in development and will continue to be made available here.

COUNTRIES WITH HIGHEST PREVALENCE OF MODERN SLAVERY

Country Name	Rank
Mauritania	1
Haiti	2
Pakistan	3
India	4
Nepal	5
Moldova	6
Benin	7
Côte d'Ivoire	8
The Gambia	9
Gabon	10

COUNTRIES WITH LOWEST PREVALENCE OF MODERN SLAVERY

Country Name	Rank
Denmark	150
Finland	150
Luxembourg	150
Norway	150
Sweden	150
Switzerland	150
New Zealand	159
United Kingdom	160
Ireland	160
Iceland	160

SUPPLEMENTARY STUDIES

Supplementary studies are in development and will continue to be made available here.

Country Name	Rank
Thailand	24
Bangladesh	71
China	84
Brazil	94
Philippines	98
Australia	138
China	84
Democratic Republic of the Congo	23
Ethiopia	12
Russia	49

FULL TABLE AND RANKINGS

The Global Slavery Index presents a ranking of 162 countries, based on a combination of their estimated prevalence of modern slavery, levels of child marriage, and levels of human trafficking into and out of the country.

Not all the countries in the world are represented in the Global Slavery Index. The 162 countries that are included, however, represent nearly all of the world's 7.1 billion people. These countries collect a sufficient amount of standardised data to allow comparison across countries and regions. While equally as important, for the most part, those countries that have not been included are those having fewer than 100,000 citizens.

Rank	Country Name	Population	Calculated Number of Enslaved	Estimated Enslaved (Lower Range)	Estimate Enslaved (Upper Range)
1	Mauritania	3,796,141	151,353	140,000	160,000
2	Haiti	10,173,775	209,165	200,000	220,000
3	Pakistan	179,160,111	2,127,132	2,000,000	2,200,000
4	India	1,236,686,732	13,956,010	13,300,000	14,700,000
5	Nepal	27,474,377	258,806	250,000	270,000
6	Moldova	3,559,541	33,325	32,000	35,000
7	Benin	10,050,702	80,371	76,000	84,000
8	Côte d'Ivoire	19,839,750	156,827	150,000	160,000
9	Gambia	1,791,225	14,046	13,000	15,000
10	Gabon	1,632,572	13,707	13,000	14,000
11	Senegal	13,726,021	102,481	98,000	110,000
12	Ethiopia	91,728,849	651,110	620,000	680,000
13	Sierra Leone	5,978,727	44,644	42,000	47,000
14	Togo	6,642,928	48,794	46,000	51,000
15	Cape Verde	494,401	3,688	3,500	3,900
15	Eritrea	6,130,922	44,452	42,000	47,000
17	Guinea	11,451,273	82,198	78,000	86,000
18	Ghana	25,366,462	181,038	170,000	190,000
19	Republic of Congo	4,337,051	30,889	29,000	32,000
20	Guinea-Bissau	1,663,558	12,186	12,000	13,000
20	Cameroon	21,699,631	153,258	150,000	160,000
22	Sudan	37,195,349	264,518	250,000	280,000
23	Democratic Republic of the Congo	65,705,093	462,327	440,000	490,000
24	Thailand	66,785,001	472,811	450,000	500,000
25	Uganda	36,345,860	254,541	240,000	270,000
26	Burkina Faso	16,460,141	114,745	110,000	120,000
27	Somalia	10,195,134	73,156	69,000	77,000
28	Niger	17,157,042	121,249	120,000	130,000
29	Tanzania	47,783,107	329,503	310,000	350,000
30	Laos	6,645,827	50,440	48,000	53,000
31	Central African Republic	4,525,209	32,174	31,000	34,000
32	Liberia	4,190,435	29,504	28,000	31,000
33	Malawi	15,906,483	110,391	100,000	120,000
34	Chad	12,448,175	86,329	82,000	91,000
35	Mozambique	25,203,395	173,493	160,000	180,000
35	Mali	14,853,572	102,240	98,000	110,000
35	Equatorial Guinea	736,296	5,453	5,200	5,800
38	Cambodia	14,864,646	106,507	100,000	110,000
39	Botswana	2,003,910	14,298	14,000	15,000
40	Zambia	14,075,099	96,175	90,000	100,000
41	Burundi	9,849,569	71,146	68,000	75,000
42	Myanmar	52,797,319	384,037	360,000	400,000
43	Rwanda	11,457,801	80,284	76,000	84,000
44	Lesotho	2,051,545	14,560	14,000	15,000
45	Zimbabwe	13,724,317	93,749	89,000	98,000
46	Namibia	2,259,393	15,729	15,000	17,000
47	Uzbekistan	29,776,850	166,667	160,000	180,000
48	Nigeria	168,833,776	701,032	670,000	740,000
49	Russia	143,533,000	516,217	490,000	540,000
50	Georgia	4,511,800	16,227	15,000	17,000
51	Azerbaijan	9,297,507	33,439	32,000	35,000
51	Albania	3,162,083	11,372	11,000	12,000
53	Montenegro	621,081	2,234	2,100	2,400
54	Czech Republic	10,514,810	37,817	36,000	40,000
54	Hungary	9,943,755	35,763	34,000	38,000
56	Bulgaria	7,304,632	27,739	26,000	29,000
57	Armenia	2,969,081	10,678	10,000	11,000
58	Afghanistan	29,824,536	86,089	82,000	90,000
59	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3,833,916	13,789	13,000	15,000
59	Serbia	7,223,887	25,981	25,000	27,000
61	Croatia	4,267,000	15,346	15,000	16,000
61	Poland	38,542,737	138,619	130,000	150,000
61	Slovakia	5,410,267	19,458	18,000	20,000
64	Vietnam	88,775,500	248,705	240,000	260,000
65	Peru	29,987,800	82,272	78,000	86,000
66	Djibouti	859,652	2,929	2,890	3,100
67	Slovenia	2,058,152	7,402	7,000	7,800
68	Suriname	534,541	1,522	1,500	1,600
69	Ecuador	15,492,264	44,072	42,000	46,000
70	Tajikistan	8,008,990	23,802	23,000	25,000
71	Bangladesh	154,695,368	343,192	330,000	360,000
72	Uruguay	3,395,253	9,978	9,500	10,000
73	Colombia	47,704,427	129,923	120,000	140,000
74	Paraguay	6,687,361	19,602	19,000	21,000
75	Venezuela	29,954,782	79,629	76,000	84,000
76	Bolivia	10,496,285	29,886	28,000	31,000
77	Guyana	795,369	2,264	2,200	2,400
78	Libya	6,154,623	17,683	17,000	19,000
79	Dominican Republic	10,276,621	23,183	22,000	24,000
80	Macedonia	2,105,575	6,226	5,900	6,500
81	Kyrgyzstan	5,582,100	16,027	15,000	17,000
82	Saudi Arabia	28,287,855	57,504	55,000	60,000
83	Turkmenistan	5,172,931	14,711	14,000	15,000
84	China	1,350,695,000	2,949,243	2,800,000	3,100,000
85	Kazakhstan	16,797,459	46,668	44,000	49,000
86	Ukraine	45,593,300	112,895	110,000	120,000
87	Jordan	6,318,000	12,843	12,000	13,000
88	United Arab Emirates	9,205,651	18,713	18,000	20,000
89	Chile	17,464,814	37,846	36,000	40,000
90	Turkey	73,997,128	120,201	110,000	130,000
91	Algeria	38,481,705	70,860	67,000	74,000
92	Yemen	23,852,409	41,303	39,000	43,000
93	Morocco	32,521,143	50,593	48,000	53,000
94	Brazil	198,656,019	209,622	200,000	220,000
95	El Salvador	6,297,394	10,490	10,000	11,000
96	Bahrain	1,317,827	2,679	2,500	2,800
96	Qatar	2,050,514	4,168	4,000	4,400
98	Philippines	96,706,764	149,973	140,000	160,000
99	Oman	3,314,001	5,739	5,500	6,000
100	Kuwait	3,250,496	6,608	6,300	6,900
101	Guatemala	15,082,831	13,194	13,000	14,000
102	Kenya	43,178,141	37,349	36,000	39,000
103	Iran	76,424,443	65,312	62,000	69,000
104	Iraq	32,578,209	28,252	27,000	30,000
105	Syria	22,399,254	19,234	18,000	20,000
106	Papua New Guinea	7,167,010	6,131	5,800	6,400
107	Mexico	120,847,477	103,010	98,000	110,000
108	Nicaragua	5,991,733	5,798	5,500	6,100
109	Mongolia	2,796,484	4,729	4,500	5,000
110	Honduras	7,935,846	7,503	7,100	7,900
111	Israel	7,907,900	8,096	7,700	8,500
112	Madagascar	22,293,914	19,184	18,000	20,000
113	Egypt	80,721,874	69,372	66,000	73,000
114	Indonesia	246,864,191	210,970	200,000	220,000
115	South Africa	51,189,307	44,545	42,000	47,000
116	Angola	20,820,525	16,767	16,000	18,000
117	Belarus	9,464,000	11,497	11,000	12,000
118	Sri Lanka	20,328,000	19,267	18,000	20,000
119	Lebanon	4,424,888	4,028	3,800	4,200
120	Timor-Leste	1,210,233	1,020	970	1,100
121	Malaysia	29,239,927	25,260	24,000	27,000
122	Argentina	41,086,927	35,368	34,000	37,000
122	Tunisia	10,777,500	9,271	8,800	9,700
124	Jamaica	2,712,100	2,386	2,300	2,500
125	Romania	21,326,905	24,141	23,000	25,000
126	Swaziland	1,230,985	1,302	1,200	1,400
127	Brunei	412,238	417	400	440
128	Lithuania	2,985,509	2,909	2,800	3,100
129	Estonia	1,339,396	1,496	1,400	1,600
130	Japan	127,561,489	80,032	76,000	84,000
131	Latvia	2,025,473	2,040	1,900	2,140
132	Italy	60,917,978	7,919	7,500	8,300
133	Trinidad and Tobago	1,337,439	486	460	510
134	United States	313,914,040	59,644	57,000	63,000
135	Barbados	283,221	46	<100	<100
136	Germany	81,889,839	10,646	10,000	11,000
137	South Korea	50,004,000	10,451	9,900	11,000
138	Australia	22,683,600	3,167	3,000	3,300
139	France	65,696,689	8,541	8,000	9,000
139	Netherlands	16,767,705	2,180	2,100	2,300
141	Hong Kong, SAR China	7,154,600	1,543	1,500	1,600
142	Singapore	5,312,400	1,105	1,100	1,200
143	Mauritius	1,291,456	535	510	560
144	Canada	34,880,491	5,863	5,600	6,200
145	Panama	3,802,281	548	520	580
146	Costa Rica	4,805,295	679	650	710
147	Portugal	10,526,703	1,368	1,300	1,400
147	Spain	46,217,961	6,008	5,700	6,300
149	Cuba	11,270,957	2,116	2,000	2,200
150	Austria	8,462,446	1,100	1,000	1,200
150	Belgium	11,142,157	1,448	1,400	1,500
150	Greece	11,280,167	1,466	1,400	1,500
150	Denmark	5,590,478	727	700	760
150	Finland	5,414,293	704	670	740
150	Luxembourg	531,441	69	<100	<100
150	Norway	5,018,869	652	620	690
150	Sweden	9,516,617	1,237	1,200	1,300
150	Switzerland	7,997,152	1,040	990	1,100
159	New Zealand	4,433,100	495	470	520
160	United Kingdom	63,227,526	4,426	4,200	4,600
160	Ireland	4,588,798	321	300	340
160	Iceland	320,137	22	<100	<100

* The Index provides an estimated range of the number of people in modern slavery, for each of the 162 countries covered by the Index. The lower range of the estimate is 28.3 million in modern slavery, and the upper range of the estimate is 31.3 million in modern slavery. The figure of 29.8 million is the mean of these estimates.