Forced labour and slavery are not a thing of the past. They have ancient roots in history and still exist today in many different forms. In fact, there are more people in slavery today than at any other time in history. Almost 50 million people around the world were victims of modern slavery in 2021, including about 28 million in forced labour, and 22 million in forced marriages. If they all lived together in a single city, it would be one of the biggest cities in the world.

Forced labour has grown in recent years. A simple comparison with the previous estimates indicates an increase of 2.7 million in the number people in forced labour between 2016 and 2021, which translates to a rise in the prevalence of forced labour from 3.4 to 3.5 per thousand people in the world.

Forced labour affects in one way or another every country in the world; it is a truly global problem. Statistics on prevalence are highly significant since they indicate the level of risk that people face in different regions.

Asia and the Pacific is host to more than half of the global total (15.1 million), followed by Europe and Central Asia (4.1 million), Africa (3.8 million), the Americas (3.6 million), and the Arab States (0.9 million). But this regional ranking changes considerably when forced labour is expressed as a proportion of the population. By this measure, forced labour is highest in the Arab States (5.3 per thousand people), followed by Europe and Central Asia (4.4 per thousand), the Americas and Asia and the Pacific (both at 3.5 per thousand), and Africa (2.9 per thousand).

Forced labour affects all population groups, young and old, male and female. But some groups are more vulnerable than others. 

Women and girls in forced labour are much more likely than their male counterparts to be in domestic work, while men in forced labour are much more likely to be in the construction sector. Women are more likely to be coerced through wage non-payment and abuse of vulnerability, and men through threats of violence and financial penalties. Women are also more likely than men to be subjected to physical and sexual violence and threats against family members.

Migrant workers face a higher risk of forced labour than other workers. The forced labour prevalence of adult migrant workers is more than three times higher than that of adult non-migrant workers. This figure makes clear that when migrant workers are not protected by law or are unable to exercise their rights, migration is irregular or poorly governed, or where recruitment practices are unfair or unethical, migration can lead to situations of vulnerability to forced labour.

Most forced labour occurs in the private economy. Eighty-six per cent of forced labour cases are imposed by private actors – 63 per cent in the private economy in sectors other than commercial sexual exploitation and 23 per cent in forced commercial sexual exploitation. State-imposed forced labour accounts for the remaining 14 per cent of people in forced labour.

Forced labour affects everyone. Even if you’re not a victim of forced labour, you’re still affected by it. Businesses, for example, face unfair competition from unscrupulous companies who reap the profits of forced labour. That may put pressure on them to lower wages or cut benefits. Meanwhile governments lose out on precious tax revenue while facing huge legal costs from prosecuting forced labour cases – money which could be spent on education, healthcare or social protection.

Forced labour affects everyone. Even if you’re not a victim of forced labour, you’re still affected by it. Businesses, for example, face unfair competition from unscrupulous companies who reap the profits of forced labour. That may put pressure on them to lower wages or cut benefits. Meanwhile governments lose out on precious tax revenue while facing huge legal costs from prosecuting forced labour cases – money which could be spent on education, healthcare or social protection.

Want to know the situation of forced labour in your country? Check its dedicated profile on the Forced Labour Observatory.