30 Million People Worldwide Are Living As Slaves

30 Million People Worldwide Are Living As Slaves

Modern day slavery still exists, and it's happening at an alarming rate. The Global Slavery Index released a shocking report last week, estimating that almost 30 million people worldwide are living as slaves. The index, compiled by Australian-based rights organization Walk Free Foundation, defines modern day slavery as debt bondage, human trafficking and forced marriage.

The country with the highest proportion of slaves is Mauritania, in West Africa. The report explains that Mauritania has such a high percentage of slaves because people inherit slave status from their ancestors. “It would be comforting to think that slavery is a relic of history, but it remains a scar on humanity on every continent," Walk Free CEO Nick Grono said in a statement provided to The Huffington Post.

Check out the infographic below to see the stats in perspective...

Infographic by Alissa Scheller for the Huffington Post

This story appears in Issue 83 of our weekly iPad magazine, Huffington, available Friday, Jan. 10 in the iTunes App store.

Before You Go

No. 10: Gabon

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