New ILO Global Estimate of Forced Labour: 20.9 million victims

Today sees the launch of a new ILO global estimate of forced labour – a shocking 20.9 million women, men and children are trapped in jobs into which they were coerced or deceived and which they cannot leave. Our estimate captures the full realm of forced labour and human trafficking for labour and sexual exploitation, or what some call “modern-day slavery”. The figure means that, at any given point in time, around three out of every 1,000 persons worldwide are suffering in forced labour.

News item | 01 June 2012


Some highlights of the results:

18.7 million (90%) people are in forced labour in the private economy, exploited by individuals or enterprises. Out of these, 4.5 million (22%) are in forced sexual exploitation, and 14.2 million (68%) in forced labour exploitation in activities such as agriculture, construction, domestic work and manufacturing.

Women and girls represent the greater share of forced labour victims – 11.4 million (55%), as compared to 9.5 million (45%) men and boys.

Adults are more affected than children – 74% (15.4 million) of victims fall in the age group of 18 years and above, whereas children are 26% of the total (or 5.5 million child victims).

2.2 million (10%) work in state-imposed forms of forced labour, for example in prisons under conditions which violate ILO standards, or in work imposed by the state military or by rebel armed forces.

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http://www.ilo.org/sapfl/News/WCMS_182109/lang--en/index.htm