By Timothy Large LONDON, Oct 17 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Some 30 million people are enslaved worldwide, trafficked into brothels, forced into manual labour, victims of debt bondage or even born into servitude, a global index on modern slavery showed on Thursday. Almost half are in India, where slavery ranges from bonded labour in quarries and kilns to commercial sex exploitation, although the scourge exists in all 162 countries surveyed by Walk Free, an Australian-based rights group. Its estimate of 29.8 million slaves worldwide is higher than other attempts to quantify modern slavery. The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are victims of forced labour. "Today some people are still being born into hereditary slavery, a staggering but harsh reality, particularly in parts of West Africa and South Asia," the report said. "Other victims are captured or kidnapped before being sold or kept for exploitation, whether through 'marriage', unpaid labour on fishing boats, or as domestic workers. Others are tricked and lured into situations they cannot escape, with false promises of a good job or an education." The Global Slavery Index 2013 defines slavery as the possession or control of people to deny freedom and exploit them for profit or sex, usually through violence, coercion or deception. The definition includes indentured servitude, forced marriage and the abduction of children to serve in wars. According to the index, 10 countries alone account for three quarters of the world's slaves. After India, China has the most with 2.9 million, followed by Pakistan (2.1 million), Nigeria (701,000), Ethiopia (651,000), Russia (516,000), Thailand (473,000), Democratic Republic of Congo (462,000), Myanmar (384,000) and Bangladesh (343,000). The index also ranks nations by prevalence of slavery per head of population. By this measure, Mauritania is worst, with almost 4 percent of its 3.8 million people enslaved. Estimates by other organisations put the level at up to 20 percent. Chattel slavery is common in Mauritania, meaning that slave status is passed down through generations. "Owners" buy, sell, rent out or give away their slaves as gifts. After Mauritania, slavery is most prevalent by population in Haiti, where a system of child labour known as "restavek" encourages poor families to send their children to wealthier acquaintances, where many end up exploited and abused. Pakistan, India, Nepal, Moldova, Benin, Ivory Coast, Gambia and Gabon have the next highest prevalence rates. At the other end of the scale, Iceland has the lowest estimated prevalence with fewer than 100 slaves. Next best are Ireland, Britain, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, Finland and Denmark, although researchers said slave numbers in such wealthy countries were higher than previously thought. "They've been allocating resources against this crime according to the tiny handful of cases that they've been aware of," said Kevin Bales, lead researcher and a professor at the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation at Hull University. "Our estimates are telling them that the numbers of people in slavery - whether it's in Great Britain or Finland or wherever - in these richer countries actually tends to be about six to 10 times higher than they think it is." Walk Free CEO Nick Grono said the annual index would serve as an important baseline for governments and activists in the anti-slavery fight. "This kind of data hasn't been out there before," he said. "It's a multi-year effort, and next year we'll have a much better picture of where slavery is and what changes there are. If you can't measure it, you can't devise policy to address it." Countries with highest absolute numbers of slaves Country Estimated slaves India 13.9 million China 2.9 million Pakistan 2.1 million Nigeria 701,000 Ethiopia 651,000 Russia 516,000 Thailand 473,000 D.R. Congo 462,000 Myanmar 384,000 Bangladesh 343,000 Ranking by prevalence of modern slavery per head of population Rank Country Estimated slaves Population 1 Mauritania 151,000 3.8 million 2 Haiti 209,000 10.2 million 3 Pakistan 2.1 million 179.2 million 4 India 13.9 million 1.2 billion 5 Nepal 259,000 27.5 million 6 Moldova 33,000 3.6 million 7 Benin 80,000 10.1 million 8 Ivory Coast 157,000 19.8 million 9 Gambia 14,000 1.8 million 10 Gabon 14,000 1.6 million Source: Global Slavery Index 2013, Walk Free (Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, runs free news services covering humanitarian issues, human rights, corruption and climate change. Visit www.trust.org) (Editing by Tom Pfeiffer) ||||| Mauritania and Haiti have the highest proportions of slaves in the world. Bruno Vincent/Getty 
 
 Slavery remains a serious global problem, with 29.6 million people in various states of forced servitude, including sexual exploitation, debt bondage and forced marriage, according to a new report. 
 
 Mauritania and Haiti have the highest proportions of slaves, while India, Pakistan and China have some of the highest absolute numbers, the Walk Free Foundation said in its first Global Slavery Index report, published Wednesday. The forms of bondage violate international decrees, including the 1926 Slavery Convention, an international treaty, and the UN Trafficking Protocol. 
 
 Native-born slaves are often found in poorer countries, while exploited workers from poorer parts of the world regularly end up in rich countries where they are often trafficked. In India, some native-born slaves never leave their own villages, Walk Free found. 
 
 "Today some people are still being born into hereditary slavery, a staggering but harsh reality, particularly in parts of West Africa and South Asia," the report states. 
 
 "Other victims are captured or kidnapped before being sold or kept for exploitation, whether through 'marriage,' unpaid labor on fishing boats, or as domestic workers," the report continues. "Others are tricked and lured into situations they cannot escape, with false promises of a good job or an education." 
 
 The 10 countries with the highest number of enslaved or exploited workers, according to Walk Free, are: India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russian Federation, Thailand, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh. 
 
 But Mauritania, with about 150,000 slaves, retains the highest proportion of enslaved people in the world, with aspects of "chattel slavery" that harken back to the American experience of the institution, where human beings are considered "full property of their masters who exercise total ownership over them and their descendants." 
 
 Many slaves in the West African nation were born into classes that have toiled as slaves for generations.
– Slavery continues to afflict almost 30 million people across the planet—in every one of 162 countries surveyed in a new report. India is home to 13.9 million slaves, by far the largest number; relative to population, however, Mauritania has the highest rate, with 4% of the population enslaved (though other groups have placed the figure as high as 20%). The new data comes from Australian activist organization Walk Free; its Global Slavery Index includes cases of human trafficking, forced labor and marriage, debt bondage, and other forms of exploitative control, Reuters notes. Three-quarters of slaves are in just 10 countries, led by China, with 2.9 million; Pakistan, with 2.1 million; Nigeria; Ethiopia; and Russia. By percentage, Mauritania—where a "chattel" system sees masters with "total ownership over (slaves) and their descendants"—is followed by Haiti, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. Iceland, meanwhile, has both the lowest number and the lowest proportion of slaves. The US has some 59,000 people experiencing such exploitation, al-Jazeera America reports. Numbers of enslaved people in wealthy countries is often "six to 10 times higher" than leaders believe, weakening anti-slavery efforts, says an expert.