Over 16 million or half the world’s population of modern day slaves lives in India and Pakistan, according to the inaugural Global Slavery Index published on Thursday. An estimated 30 million people worldwide are living in modern-day slavery, of which 2.1 million are in Pakistan and a staggering 14 million are based in India. The report by the Walk Free Foundation ranks 162 countries on modern slavery by using reports from governments and non-profit organisations as well as statistical estimates. The Walk Free Foundation’s definition of modern slavery includes slavery itself, as well as human trafficking and forced labour, and slavery-like practices such as debt bondage, forced marriage, and sale or exploitation of children.
According to the index, India has the highest total number of enslaved people in the world, between 13.2 million to 14.6 million, followed by China with 2.9 million enslaved people, and Pakistan with 2.1 million enslaved people. According to estimates by the WFF report, over 1.2 percent of the Pakistani population is enforced into in some form of slavery. Combined, both India and Pakistan house 54 percent of the world’s population of enslaved people.
Pakistan and India follow the list, ranked third and fourth respectively on prevalence of slavery. Taken together, countries with the highest numbers of enslaved people – India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh – account for 76 percent of the total estimate of 30 million in modern slavery today. The Walk Free Foundation is a Perth-based anti-slavery charity founded by Australian tycoon Andrew Forrest. The index has been endorsed by popular leaders including US Secretary Hillary Clinton, former British prime minister Tony Blair, current Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and philanthropists Richard Branson and Bill Gates.