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Human Trafficking Facts

Tadashi

Written by Tadashi

Modified & Updated: 30 Dec 2023

Sherman Smith

Reviewed by Sherman Smith

Expert Verified Editorial Guidelines
Human trafficking

Human trafficking remains one of the most shameful aspects of our modern 21st century. Proof that even in our age of democracy, society still has many problems that need overcoming. Thanks to human trafficking, millions around the world find themselves reduced to slaves, usually for the rest of their lives. Learn more about this horrifying crime with these 30 human trafficking facts.

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  1. Human trafficking comes in 3rd, after drug dealing and arms trafficking, as the world’s biggest criminal industries.
  2. Criminals earn an estimated $150 billion per year from the human trafficking business.
  3. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that up to 21 million people around the world work as modern-day slaves.
  4. Of those, up to 21% of the victims find themselves as sex slaves.
  5. Another 10% of the victims result from state-imposed forced labor.
  1. The United Nations (UN) defined human trafficking under international law with the Palermo Protocol in 2003.
  2. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) first launched an information campaign against human trafficking in 2006.
  3. UNODC later launched the Blue Heart Campaign Against Human Trafficking in 2009.
  4. In 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons for human trafficking victims worldwide.
  5. Mexico also launched its own Blue Heart campaign in 2010.
  6. As of 2012, 83% of the countries in the world had criminalized human trafficking.
  7. The UN chose July 30, 2013, as the 1st annual World Day against human trafficking.
  8. In 2018, the UNODC discovered that children make up to 30% of all human trafficking victims worldwide.
  9. Also as of 2018, 173 nations around the world had ratified the Palermo Protocol.
  10. UNODC published a new report on human trafficking in 2019.
  1. Human trafficking includes people smuggling, where the people getting moved do so with their willing consent.
  2. According to the US State Department, Belarus, Iran, Russia, and Turkmenistan make up the countries with the worst protections against human trafficking.
  3. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) considers Brazil and Thailand as the countries with the highest rate of children getting trafficked.
  4. Statistics indicate over 100 million people worldwide remain vulnerable to exploitation by human traffickers.
  5. Human trafficking contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS around the world.
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