Global estimates
The most recent global estimates cover 2021. Because most cases are never reported, the true figures are likely higher.
people living in modern slavery on any given day.
people in forced labor.
people living in forced marriages.
people in forced commercial sexual exploitation.
Source: ILO, Walk Free & IOM, Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, 2022
Who is affected
Children
3.3 million children are in forced labor. More than half of them are in commercial sexual exploitation.
Women and girls
Nearly four out of five people in forced commercial sexual exploitation are women or girls.
Migrant workers
Adult migrant workers are more than three times as likely to be in forced labor as non-migrant workers.
Private industry
86% of forced labor is imposed in the private economy, in sectors such as manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and domestic work.
Source: ILO, Walk Free & IOM, Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, 2022
The money
Trafficking continues because it is extremely profitable.
in illegal profits generated by forced labor every year.
of those profits come from forced commercial sexual exploitation.
increase in illegal profits since 2014.
Source: ILO, Profits and Poverty, 2024
Trends
More victims detected
The number of trafficking victims detected worldwide rose by 25% in 2022 compared with 2019.
Children
Children made up 38% of detected victims in 2022.
Source: UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2024
Types of trafficking
Sex trafficking
Forcing, tricking, or coercing someone into commercial sex. Under U.S. law, any commercial sex involving a person under 18 is sex trafficking, whether or not force is used.
Labor trafficking
Forcing someone to work through violence, threats, deception, or control of their documents or pay.
Debt bondage
Making someone work to pay off a debt that is inflated or impossible to repay, often for recruitment, travel, or housing.
Domestic servitude
Forcing someone to work in a private home, often isolated from others and unable to leave.
Forced marriage
Marrying someone without their free consent, often followed by forced labor or sexual exploitation.
Sources
ILO, Walk Free, and IOM, Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, 2022.
ILO, Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour, 2024.
UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2024.
Lumen Freedom Initiative will publish its own research on this page as it becomes available.