YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. The 2016 Global Slavery Index revealed an estimated 45.8 million men, women and children around the world are today trapped in modern slavery – 28% more than previously estimated, “Armenpress” reports citing the report published in Walk Free Foundation.

They are enslaved through human trafficking, forced labour, debt bondage, forced or servile marriage or commercial sexual exploitation.

North Korea is the country with the greatest prevalence of modern slavery, with 4.37% of its population estimated to be enslaved. It is also the country with the weakest government response in terms of actions taken to combat modern slavery.

The next highest prevalence of slavery is found in Uzbekistan (3.97%), followed by Cambodia (1.65%).

In terms of absolute numbers, India remains the highest with an estimated 18.35 million enslaved people, followed by China (3.39m), Pakistan (2.13m), Bangladesh (1.53m) and Uzbekistan (1.23m). Combined, these five countries account for almost 58% of the world’s enslaved, or 26.6 million people.

The 2016 Global Slavery Index estimates that 28% more people are enslaved than reported in the 2014 edition. This significant increase is due to enhanced data collection and research methodology. Survey research for the 2016 Global Slavery Index included over 42,000 interviews conducted in 53 languages across 25 countries, including 15 state-level surveys in India. These representative surveys cover 44% of the global population.