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Countries With The Most Slavery In The World In 2014

Countries With The Most Slavery In The World In 2014

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An estimated 35.8 million people around the world were slaves in 2014, according to the Global Slavery Index. By definition, modern slavery includes forced labor, sexual exploitation, child labor and inter-generational bonded servitude. Every country on Earth is affected, but Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, are disproportionately so. The following are 15 countries with the most slavery in the world in 2014, according to Global Slavery Index.

Percentages listed here reflect the percent of the population estimated to be in slavery in 2014, according to the 2014 Global Slavery Index.

Sources: GlobalSlaveryIndex.org, GVNet.com, KyivPost.com, AllAfrica.com

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Wikimedia.org

15. Moldova – 0.936%

Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe, and many of its 3.56 million citizens live below the poverty line. In 2014, an estimated 33,300 people were enslaved in Moldova – many in forced labor in construction and agriculture work. Others were subjected to sex trafficking and forced marriage across Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The independent region of Transnistria in Eastern Moldova is particularly problematic. It serves as a hub for human trafficking.

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Wikimedia.org

14. Cambodia – 1.029%

Cambodia struggles with human trafficking, with more than 155,800 people subjected to slavery in a variety of ways – sex exploitation, domestic servitude, forced prostitution, and bonded labor practices. Families have been known to sell children into forced street begging or waste scavenging to pay off debts, and many adults are lured into exploitative labor practices in the country’s booming garment industry. While child trafficking laws in Cambodia have been strengthened in recent years, there are no signs of progress to curb child trafficking.

MapsofWorld.com
MapsofWorld.com

13. Iraq – 1.035%

The 345,900 enslaved people in Iraq are primarily trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation. Iraqi women and girls making up the majority of slaves. Many are sold across the border into neighboring countries such as Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, and forced to work as prostitutes or domestic servants. Other Iraqis are forced into bonded labor, lured there by false promises of work and pay. The vast oil industry – making up more than 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings – keeps the demand high for cheap labor that qualifies as slave labor.

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Wikimedia.org

12. United Arab Emirates – 1.057%

The United Arab Emirates has a huge foreign worker population, with more than 7.3 million foreigners making up the bulk of the country’s 9.3 million population. Many of these workers are trapped by illegal sponsorship systems through their employers, and the demand for cheap labor in the UAE perpetuates exploitative forced labor practices. Despite the fact that sex outside of marriage is banned in the U.A.E., sexual abuse is rampant among women and children employed as domestic workers. The U.A.E. passed anti-trafficking laws and some progress has been made, but labor issues remain a problem.

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Wikimedia.org

11. Republic of the Congo – 1.106%

The Republic of Congo is estimated to have 49,200 people trapped in slavery, including many children exploited for sexual servitude, forced market vending, and forced labor in the fishing industry. The Pygmy people, a community that lives in the Congo’s rain forests, are known to suffer disproportionately, as they are often forced into debt slavery and refused basic civil rights and access to health or education.

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Wikimedia.org

10. Central African Republic – 1.13%

Ongoing violence in the Central African Republic has contributed to more than 52,200 people being forced into modern slavery. Massive populations of internally displaced people, as well as refugees have been forced to flee. Many have been caught in webs of sexual slavery, child marriage, child soldier recruitment, and forced labor in gold and diamond reserves. In 2014, the CAR government estimated that over 44 percent of the population had experienced sexual violence in some way, and more than 6,000 children were being used in armed conflict.

SyriaFlag.Facts.co
SyriaFlag.Facts.co

9. Syria – 1.13%

Ongoing violence in Syria has created an enormous population of refugees and internally displaced people. Syrians are now considered the world’s largest refugee population, and the second largest in history. Many have been forced into the armed services – including child soldiers. Women and girls are frequently kidnapped and sold into marriage and sex slavery. The Syrian government is deemed responsible for many of these atrocities, particularly with regard to child soldier recruitment and forced armed servitude. It has been extremely difficult to enact any meaningful response to the country’s slave population, estimated to include 258,200 people.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

8. Sudan – 1.13%

Sudan has an estimated 429,000 enslaved people, and the country has a long history of involvement in slavery. Today, most modern slaves are involved in commercial sexual exploitation, child marriages, and trafficking related to asylum seeking and refugee status. The ongoing violence from the civil war between northern and southern separatists created a vast population of refugees. Many who seek work opportunities abroad are trapped into forced labor agreements set up between traffickers and “employers.”

GreenwichMeantime.com
GreenwichMeantime.com

7. Democratic Republic of the Congo – 1.13%

With a population of more than 67 million, DRC has approximately 762,000 people enslaved. One of the most prevalent forms of slavery in the DRC is forced labor, often through a practice of debt bondage, in which workers must borrow from employers to begin work and are forced to stay indefinitely to pay off the debts. Others include commercial sexual exploitation, and child solider recruitment. Political instability and ongoing violence from armed rebel groups – especially surrounding the region’s mineral wealth – have created an enormous population of internally displaced people. The internally displaced are more vulnerable to slavery that the rest of the population. Weak infrastructure and rampant poverty have made slavery difficult to tackle.

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Wikimedia.org

6. Pakistan – 1.13%

More than 2 million people are subjected to slavery in Pakistan. Many are enslaved in bonded labor practices, particularly in brick making and agriculture. Debt repayment responsibilities are often transferred to family members upon the death of an enslaved person, making inter-generational slavery commonplace as well. Child labor is an enormous problem in Pakistan. An estimated 10 million child workers live in Pakistan, and they are more vulnerable to exploitative practices than the rest of the population.

MapsofIndia.com
MapsofIndia.com

5. India – 1.141%

The enormous population of India, estimated at more than 1.2 billion people, is extremely vulnerable to slavery practices. An estimated 14,285,700 people are considered to be enslaved in India. The practice of slavery is deeply entrenched in the culture, and inter-generational forced labor practices are common, as are forced marriage and sexual exploitation. India’s caste system disproportionately affects those of lower castes in modern slavery, and migrant workers are particularly susceptible. India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has taken steps in recent years to address human trafficking, but seemingly ignores the country’s massive forced-labor issues.

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Wikimedia.org

4. Qatar – 1.356%

Qatar has been lambasted in the international media of late — the 2016 FIFA World Cup is set to be held in the Middle Eastern country in 2022. Workers often travel to Qatar for the plethora of jobs it boasts to have on offer, but are often subjected to exploitative practices and forced labor. Many have difficulty leaving, entrapped by recruitment debt, salary withholding, or having passports confiscated. Qatar also operates under the kafala system, where a migrant’s legal status as a worker is tied to his or her current employer. This makes workers more vulnerable to exploitation and enslavement. An estimated 29,400 people are considered enslaved in Qatar, which has a population of 2,168,673.

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Wikimedia.org

3. Haiti – 2.304%

The restavèk system in Haiti is considered one of the leading contributors to modern slavery in the country. Families that cannot provide for their own children send them away to work in exchange for room, board, and education, but the children are often exploited and abused. An estimated 237,000 are enslaved in Haiti. Many of them, children and adults alike, are trafficked into the Dominican Republic for forced labor, sexual exploitation, and domestic work. Children are also vulnerable to trafficking by criminal gangs, particularly those from impoverished circumstances who live on the street. The Haitian government instituted new trafficking laws in 2014, and there are hopes the numbers will decrease in the coming years.

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Wikimedia.org

2. Uzbekistan – 3.973%

An astonishing 1,201,400 people are reported to be enslaved in Uzbekistan, a country with a population of more than 30 million people. The country is one of the world’s top cotton producers, and Uzbekistan nationals are often forced to work on cotton plantations during the harvest. Some estimates have this number at 5-million-plus during the picking season. The government has been complicit in forced labor, coercing men, women and children with threats of school expulsion or reduced federal benefits to work on the fields to meet state-imposed quotas. Sexual exploitation is also an issue in Uzbekistan. Hundreds of human trafficking victims are identified each year.

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Wikimedia.org

1. Mauritania – 4%

Mauritania has an estimated 155,600 people in modern slavery, according to the Global Slavery Index, representing 4 percent of its 3.9-million population. The institution of slavery is deeply entrenched in Mauritanian society and tradition. Slave status is inherited through generations. Black moors historically represent the largest population of enslaved. They were traditionally raided and enslaved by the Berber Arabs, or white moors. While many have left slavery, others remained enslaved by traditional masters and are unable to own land, inherit property or other possessions, or maintain any personal freedom. Though the Mauritian government established a plan of action to combat slavery in 2013, its special tribunal has yet to prosecute any cases of crimes of slavery, and there is little evidence to suggest it has followed through on any of the responsibilities it was entrusted with. Slavery became a crime in this vast Saharan nation in 2007 but just one slave owner has been successfully prosecuted, according to CNN.