30 million people still live in slavery

Map of female trafficking, Wikimedia Commons Public Domain

According to the recent inaugural Global Slavery Index report, published by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation, there are still 30 million people living in slavery in the world. The word "slavery" encompasses a variety of conditions from forced labor to human trafficking.

Haiti, Pakistan, India and the African nation of Mauritania have the highest number of slaves in proportion to population. China had the second highest rate in proportion to population with an estimated 3 million people living in slavery.

China's slavery index includes “the forced labour of men, women and children in many parts of the economy, including domestic servitude and forced begging, the sexual exploitation of women and children, and forced marriage.”

The US was ranked 134th on the index. Not a good number at all. Its ranking shows that the US is worse off than Barbados, South Korea, Costa Rica and Cuba.