India has the most number of slaves in the world, study says
There are more than 45 million slaves in the world, and almost half of them are in India, according to a recent study.
The Walk Free Foundation, an Australia-based organization, conducted a survey regarding the prevalence of modern-day slaves and found that there are an estimated 45.8 million slaves distributed in 167 countries around the globe.
The results, released as The Global Slavery Index, showed that 40 percent of these slaves are in India, many of whom are held by bondage to debt, forced into marriages and sold as prostitutes.
The report said that some Indian girls who are forced into marriage end up as unpaid laborers. People who are exploiting women in this way found that a regular laborer costs $140 for an entire season, while a bride costs only a one-time payment of $100.
The 2016 figures for India are higher by 15 percent compared to the previous survey, but only because of more accurate data collection in the present survey, according to the Walk Free Foundation's global research head, Fiona David.
"The incidences of slavery in 2016 is larger than we thought. This doesn't necessarily mean the numbers have gone up since the last Global Slavery Index, but more because of a greater improvement in our measurements," Reuters quoted David as saying.
She noted an improvement in the Indian government's efforts to control slavery, saying it is taking "exciting steps" to come up with anti-trafficking legislation. She praised this is a "huge step forward" but emphasized that implementation of such laws is important.
"After all, a law is just words on paper until it is implemented," she said.
India, with the highest number of modern-day slaves, is followed by China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan.
The country with the highest prevalence of slavery according to the proportion of population is North Korea, where there is "pervasive evidence" of existing prison labor camps. Next to North Korea is Uzbekistan, where government imposed forced labor for cotton harvest continues, then Cambodia, India and Qatar.
