Every day, hidden in plain sight within the shadows of our global economy, millions of lives are systematically exploited for profit, a harrowing reality underscored by the staggering statistic that an estimated 49.6 million people were trapped in modern slavery in 2022.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, an estimated 49.6 million people were in modern slavery, with 12 million in forced commercial sexual exploitation globally according to the Walk Free Global Slavery Index
- Globally, 27% of all detected trafficking victims are children, and among them, 35% are trafficked for sexual exploitation per UNODC 2022 report
- In Europe, 63% of identified trafficking victims in 2020 were women trafficked for sexual exploitation, UNODC data
- 79% of trafficking victims in the US are female, primarily for sex trafficking, per NIJ study
- Children make up 30% of sex trafficking victims detected globally, with girls 72% of child victims, UNODC 2022
- In the US, 96% of child sex trafficking victims are female runaways or homeless, per Polaris
- 65% of pimps in US are romantic partners of victims, Urban Institute study
- Globally, 55% of traffickers are female, often previous victims, UNODC 2022
- In the US, 82% of sex traffickers are male, DOJ stats
- Globally, sex trafficking profits $99 billion yearly, ILO 2022
- Average sex trafficking victim generates $100,000-$250,000 profit per year for traffickers in US, Urban Inst
- Global sex trade worth $180 billion annually, including trafficking, ILO
- In 2022, US convicted 1,118 traffickers, 98% sex cases, DOJ
- India: 1,000+ trafficking prosecutions yearly, but conviction rate 30%, NCRB 2022
- Globally, only 1% of traffickers prosecuted, UNODC 2022
Human trafficking exploits millions globally, with women and children most often forced into sexual exploitation.
Economic Impact
- Globally, sex trafficking profits $99 billion yearly, ILO 2022
- Average sex trafficking victim generates $100,000-$250,000 profit per year for traffickers in US, Urban Inst
- Global sex trade worth $180 billion annually, including trafficking, ILO
- In India, brothels generate $1 billion yearly from trafficked women
- US sex trafficking economy estimated at $290 million in 8 cities alone, Urban Inst
- Pimps in US keep 50-70% of earnings from victims, averaging $18/hour per victim, DOJ
- Thailand sex tourism generates $6.4 billion yearly, much from trafficking, WTTC
- Europe: Sex trafficking profits €3 billion annually, Europol
- Nigeria to Italy route: Traffickers charge €40,000-60,000 per woman, IOM
- Mexico cartels earn $500 million from sex trafficking yearly, US State
- Philippines: OFW remittances hide trafficking costs, $1-2k debt bondage
- Brazil: Sex trade contributes 2% to GDP in some areas, trafficked labor
- Cambodia: Sex industry $500 million yearly, 1/3 from minors trafficking, ECPAT
- Russia: Trafficking to Gulf states earns $1 billion for networks, US TIP
- China: Bride trafficking market $25 billion, including sex slavery
- South Africa: Sex trafficking generates R2 billion yearly in Johannesburg, IOM
- Colombia: $1 billion from Venezuelan sex trafficking, US TIP
- Victims forced to service 10-15 clients daily, earning traffickers $300-1000/day, Polaris US
- Online sex ads generate $1 billion monthly in US, many trafficking linked, DOJ
- India: Mumbai red light district $400 million yearly from 100,000 women
- Global: Traffickers profit more from sex than arms/drugs combined, ILO
Economic Impact Interpretation
This staggering pile of numbers, from billions in global profit to the grim hourly wage of a victim, is the world’s most brutal and overlooked business model, proving that the marketplace of human misery is not only open but devastatingly efficient.
Law Enforcement and Prosecutions
- In 2022, US convicted 1,118 traffickers, 98% sex cases, DOJ
- India: 1,000+ trafficking prosecutions yearly, but conviction rate 30%, NCRB 2022
- Globally, only 1% of traffickers prosecuted, UNODC 2022
- US: 450 sex trafficking prosecutions in FY2022, up 20%, State TIP
- Thailand: 126 convictions in 2022, mostly sex trafficking, US TIP
- EU: 7,000+ suspects identified, 1,000 prosecuted for trafficking 2020, Eurostat
- Mexico: 1,200 arrests for sex trafficking in 2022, but few convictions
- Nigeria: Fewer than 10 convictions yearly despite thousands of cases, US TIP
- Philippines: 50 sex trafficking convictions in 2022
- Brazil: 200+ prosecutions, conviction rate 40%, US TIP
- Germany: 687 trafficking investigations, 80% sex, BKA 2022
- China: No convictions reported, systemic denial, US TIP
- Russia: 400 investigations, few sex-specific prosecutions
- South Africa: 30 convictions in 2022, low due to corruption, US TIP
- Colombia: 150 arrests for sex trafficking, 50 convictions
- US NCMEC identified 32 million child sex abuse reports, leading to 10,000+ trafficking rescues 2022
- India: 2,878 trafficking cases registered 2022, NCRB
- Globally, victim identification rate 0.04% of estimated victims, UNODC
- Cambodia: 100+ sex trafficking arrests yearly, ECPAT/ECPAT
- In 2023 TIP Report, 188 countries have anti-trafficking laws, but enforcement varies
- US: $200 million allocated for anti-trafficking in FY2023, HHS/DOJ
- Europol dismantled 20 sex trafficking networks in 2022
- Nigeria: INTERPOL ops rescued 200 sex victims 2022
Law Enforcement and Prosecutions Interpretation
The grim arithmetic of global justice reveals a staggering formula: while nations are quick to write anti-trafficking laws and make arrests, the actual conversion of those arrests into convictions is a tragic bottleneck, leaving a sea of impunity for predators and a desert of justice for survivors.
Perpetrator and Recruitment
- 65% of pimps in US are romantic partners of victims, Urban Institute study
- Globally, 55% of traffickers are female, often previous victims, UNODC 2022
- In the US, 82% of sex traffickers are male, DOJ stats
- Family members recruit 35% of child sex trafficking victims in India, NCRB
- Online recruitment via social media up 40% in 2022 US cases, Polaris
- In Europe, 47% of sex traffickers are foreigners to the country, Eurostat
- 60% of pimps in US have prior criminal convictions, NIJ study
- In Nigeria, cult groups like Black Axe recruit for sex trafficking to Europe, US TIP
- Promises of marriage lure 50% of Nepali girls to India sex trade
- 75% of sex trafficking in Thailand by Thai nationals targeting migrants, US TIP
- In Mexico, cartels control 80% of sex trafficking routes
- Social media platforms used in 63% of child sex trafficking cases in 2022, NCMEC
- In the Philippines, 70% recruitment via fake job offers abroad, US TIP
- Europe: Organized crime groups behind 68% of sex trafficking, Europol
- US: 50% of pimps are women aged 18-30, Urban Inst
- In Brazil, favela gangs recruit girls as young as 11, US TIP
- False modeling contracts lure 40% of Eastern European women to West
- In South Africa, Nigerian syndicates dominate sex trafficking, IOM
- 90% of child sex tourists in Cambodia are Western men, ECPAT
- Russia: State actors complicit in trafficking women to Middle East, US TIP
- In China, family networks traffic women domestically, HRW
- Colombia: FARC dissidents force indigenous girls into sex slavery, US TIP
Perpetrator and Recruitment Interpretation
This grim global tapestry reveals that human trafficking is not a distant crime of shadowy strangers but often a predatory betrayal woven by intimate partners, family members, and trusted local networks, weaponizing hope and exploiting vulnerability at every turn.
Prevalence and Scale
- In 2022, an estimated 49.6 million people were in modern slavery, with 12 million in forced commercial sexual exploitation globally according to the Walk Free Global Slavery Index
- Globally, 27% of all detected trafficking victims are children, and among them, 35% are trafficked for sexual exploitation per UNODC 2022 report
- In Europe, 63% of identified trafficking victims in 2020 were women trafficked for sexual exploitation, UNODC data
- The US State Department TIP Report 2023 notes that sex trafficking constitutes 79% of labor trafficking cases prosecuted in the US
- ILO estimates 6.3 million adults and 1.2 million children in forced commercial sex globally in 2021
- In South Asia, 75% of sex trafficking victims are from Nepal and Bangladesh routed to India, per US TIP 2023
- Polaris Project reported 10,359 sex trafficking situations in the US National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2022
- In Africa, 23% of trafficking victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation, highest for women at 58%, UNODC 2022
- Globally, forced labor generates $150 billion in illegal profits annually, with $99 billion from sexual exploitation, ILO 2022
- In the Americas, 67% of detected victims are trafficked for sexual purposes, UNODC 2022
- Thailand sees 300,000 sex workers, many trafficked, per US TIP 2023
- In 2021, 49,000 potential trafficking cases reported to US hotline, 72% sex trafficking, Polaris
- East Asia and Pacific: 49% of victims for sexual exploitation, UNODC
- Mexico: 70,000-80,000 victims of sex trafficking annually, US TIP 2023
- Globally, 50% of sex trafficking victims are trafficked domestically, UNODC 2022
- India: Over 1 million children in sex trade, per ECPAT
- In the EU, 70% of trafficked women are for sexual exploitation, Eurostat 2021
- Nigeria: 50,000 women trafficked to Europe for sex yearly, US TIP
- US: 15,000-50,000 women trafficked into sex trade annually from abroad, State Dept
- Brazil: 500,000 women and girls in prostitution, many trafficked, US TIP 2023
- In 2020, 1 in 150 women in Germany prostituted, many foreign victims, per reports
- Philippines: 60,000-100,000 minors in sex trade, US TIP
- Russia: 1 million women in prostitution, significant trafficking, US TIP
- Cambodia: 15,000-20,000 underage girls in sex trade, ECPAT
- In the Middle East, 46% of victims for sexual exploitation, UNODC
- South Africa: 100,000-200,000 sex workers, many trafficked, US TIP
- China: Millions in forced prostitution, including North Korean women, US TIP
- In 2022, India identified 6,616 trafficking victims, 90% for sex, NCRB
- Colombia: 50,000 women in sex trafficking networks, US TIP
- 25 million in forced sexual exploitation worldwide per ILO 2017 updated 2022
Prevalence and Scale Interpretation
To look at the sheer scale of these numbers is to see the world's oldest oppression not merely persisting but thriving as a global, industrialized trade, where the staggering profits of $99 billion a year reveal a chilling truth: humanity's darkest market treats lives as high-yield commodities.
Response and Recovery
- In 2022, US identified 1,077 trafficking victims via hotline, Polaris
- Globally, only 10% of sex trafficking survivors access services, UNODC
- US: 2,000+ shelters/beds for trafficking survivors, but demand exceeds, Polaris
- India: 400+ government homes for rescued women, occupancy 60%, NHRC
- Thailand: 50 shelters rehabilitate 1,000 sex victims yearly, US TIP
- EU: 1,500 shelters for trafficked women, but 70% sex victims need specialized care, FRA
- Mexico: 70 shelters, but only 20% for sex trafficking focus
- Nigeria: IOM assisted 5,000 returnees from sex trafficking 2022
- Philippines: 40 centers rehabilitate 500 minors yearly, US TIP
- Brazil: 100+ NGOs provide recovery for 2,000 victims annually
- US T-visas issued to 1,800 trafficking victims in FY2022, USCIS
- Cambodia: 20 shelters rescue 300 girls yearly from sex trade, ECPAT
- South Africa: 30 shelters for 1,000 women, high recidivism 40%, IOM
- China: Minimal services, 100 victims repatriated yearly, US TIP
- Russia: No dedicated shelters, 200 assisted by NGOs
- Colombia: 50 shelters for Venezuelan sex victims, UNHCR support
- Global fund for trafficking victims: $50 million disbursed 2022, UN
- US: 80% of survivors need mental health services, only 50% access, HHS
- India: Skill training reintegrates 30% of rescued women, low recidivism
Response and Recovery Interpretation
The global response to human trafficking is a jarring patchwork of heroic, underfunded efforts where shelters are too few, care is often mismatched, and the triumphant statistic of a survivor's recovery must shout over the deafening reality of thousands more still unheard.
Victim Profiles
- 79% of trafficking victims in the US are female, primarily for sex trafficking, per NIJ study
- Children make up 30% of sex trafficking victims detected globally, with girls 72% of child victims, UNODC 2022
- In the US, 96% of child sex trafficking victims are female runaways or homeless, per Polaris
- 99% of sex trafficking victims in Europe are women and girls, FRA report
- Average age of entry into sex trafficking in US is 12-14 years old, per FBI and DOJ
- In India, 40% of prostituted women enter before age 18, NHRC study
- 80% of sex trafficking survivors in US have history of child sexual abuse, Polaris Project
- Globally, 71% of sex trafficking victims are women, ILO/UNODC/Walk Free
- In Thailand, 60% of sex workers are under 18, many from ethnic minorities, ECPAT
- US: 86% of confirmed child sex trafficking victims known to child welfare, HHS
- In Nigeria, victims often young women 15-25 from rural areas, US TIP
- 50% of sex trafficked children in US are male, but underreported, NIJ
- In Mexico, indigenous women and girls 70% of sex trafficking victims
- Europe: 61% of sex trafficking victims from EU, mostly Eastern Europe, Eurostat
- Philippines: Most victims girls 12-17 from poor families, US TIP
- In the US, 40% of sex trafficking victims are LGBTQ youth, Polaris 2022
- Brazil: Afro-Brazilian women disproportionately victims, 60%, US TIP
- Globally, 23% of sex victims are boys/men, but detection bias, UNODC
- India: Dalit and tribal girls 80% of brothel prostitutes
- South Africa: 90% foreign African women in urban sex trade, IOM
- In Cambodia, 80% of child sex workers from Vietnam/China borders, ECPAT
- US: Native American women 10x more likely to be sex trafficked, NIJ
- Russia: Central Asian women primary victims, US TIP
- 70% of sex trafficking victims suffer PTSD equivalent to war veterans, medical studies
- In China, 90% of trafficked North Korean women forced into sex, HRW
- Colombia: Venezuelan refugees 50% of new sex victims, US TIP
Victim Profiles Interpretation
This grim arithmetic of exploitation reveals a predatory world where the most vulnerable—children, runaways, girls from marginalized communities—are systematically harvested, their trauma concealed behind statistics that coldly document a global pandemic of gender-based violence.
Sources & References
- Reference 1WALKFREEwalkfree.orgVisit source
- Reference 2UNODCunodc.orgVisit source
- Reference 3STATEstate.govVisit source
- Reference 4ILOilo.orgVisit source
- Reference 5POLARISPROJECTpolarisproject.orgVisit source
- Reference 6ECPATecpat.orgVisit source
- Reference 7ECec.europa.euVisit source
- Reference 8BKAbka.deVisit source
- Reference 9NCRBncrb.gov.inVisit source
- Reference 10NIJnij.ojp.govVisit source
- Reference 11FRAfra.europa.euVisit source
- Reference 12JUSTICEjustice.govVisit source
- Reference 13NHRCnhrc.nic.inVisit source
- Reference 14THAILANDthailand.ecpat.orgVisit source
- Reference 15ACFacf.govVisit source
- Reference 16HRWhrw.orgVisit source
- Reference 17IOMiom.intVisit source
- Reference 18NCBIncbi.nlm.nih.govVisit source
- Reference 19URBANurban.orgVisit source
- Reference 20MISSINGKIDSmissingkids.orgVisit source
- Reference 21EUROPOLeuropol.europa.euVisit source
- Reference 22PUBLICATIONSpublications.iom.intVisit source
- Reference 23WTTCwttc.orgVisit source
- Reference 24INTERPOLinterpol.intVisit source
- Reference 25USCISuscis.govVisit source