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. "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." 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. 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). 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.
– 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.