UNODC reported an 11% increase in detected child trafficking victims from 2016 to 2019, and detected victim data still shows children at scale. In 2022, 28% of global detected trafficking victims were children, with boys also exploited for labor. The section below breaks down trafficking patterns by age, exploitation type, and region to show how the same crime takes different forms.
Key Takeaways
- 30% of child trafficking victims are boys trafficked for labor per UNICEF 2021
- The International Labour Organization estimates that 27.6 million people were subjected to forced labor globally on any given day in 2021, many as a result of human trafficking
- 35% of labor trafficking victims are in agriculture globally per ILO 2021
- East Asia: North Korea 100,000 forced child laborers per UN
- 90% of sex trafficking victims know their trafficker per Polaris
Trafficking statistics show the scale of exploitation and the urgent need for stronger prevention and protection.
Related reading
01 · Category
Child Trafficking30 stats
01
30% of child trafficking victims are boys trafficked for labor per UNICEF 2021
02
US: 25% of trafficking victims are children per NHTRC 2022
03
Africa: 30% of children out of school vulnerable to trafficking per UNESCO
04
India: 1.2 million children trafficked annually per NCRB
05
28% of global detected victims are children per UNODC 2022
06
Child sex tourism affects 2 million children yearly per ECPAT
07
In West Africa, 200,000 children trafficked for labor per ILO
08
US foster care: 60% of child sex trafficking victims per HHS
09
50% of trafficked children suffer long-term health issues per WHO
10
Begging rings: 10 million children forced globally per ILO
11
Philippines: 60,000 children in sex trafficking per UNICEF
12
70% of child trafficking internal to countries per UNODC
13
Haiti: 300,000 restavek children vulnerable to trafficking per USDOS
14
Child soldiers: 250,000 globally many trafficked per UN
15
40% child trafficking for domestic servitude per ILO
16
Europe: 15,000 unaccompanied minors disappear annually, many trafficked per EU
17
Average child trafficking victim age 13 for sex exploitation per NCMEC
18
China: 20,000 children trafficked yearly per police data
19
80% of child trafficking victims experience violence per UNICEF
20
Online grooming leads to 25% child trafficking cases per Interpol
21
Brazil: 500,000 children in forced labor per ILO
22
65% of child victims girls for sexual exploitation per UNODC
23
Refugee children: 30% risk of trafficking per UNHCR
24
US: 2,300 child trafficking cases prosecuted 2018-2022 per DOJ
25
Southeast Asia: 1.5 million children trafficked per ILO
26
50% of child laborers aged 5-11 trafficked per ILO
27
Sub-Saharan Africa: 23% children trafficked per ILO
28
Asia hosts 78% of child trafficking victims per UNICEF
29
North America: 15% of global child trafficking detections per UNODC
30
Europe: 1.2 million irregular migrant children at risk per FRA
Interpretation
Child Trafficking Interpretation
These statistics are not just cold numbers; they are a damning indictment of a global society that, while often envisioning trafficking as a distant shadow, is actually tolerating a vast, industrialized system that consumes childhood itself, exploiting boys for labor just as readily as girls for sex, and turning our schools, borders, and even foster care systems into its supply chains.
02 · Category
Global Prevalence29 stats
01
The International Labour Organization estimates that 27.6 million people were subjected to forced labor globally on any given day in 2021, many as a result of human trafficking
02
UNODC's Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2022 indicates that 49,096 potential trafficking victims were detected worldwide between 2018 and 2021
03
Walk Free's Global Slavery Index 2023 reports that 50 million people were living in modern slavery in 2021, including trafficking victims
04
ILO estimates 3.3 million children under 18 were in forced labor due to trafficking in 2021
05
Globally, 54% of detected trafficking victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation according to UNODC 2022
06
38% of detected victims are trafficked for forced labor per UNODC Global Report 2020
07
An estimated 25 million people are trafficked for forced marriage globally per ILO 2022
08
UNODC reports a 11% increase in detected child victims from 2016 to 2019
09
23% of global trafficking flows are international according to UNODC 2022
10
Polaris Project data shows over 10,000 trafficking cases reported to the US National Human Trafficking Hotline since 2007
11
Globally, women and girls represent 71% of detected trafficking victims per UNODC 2022
12
ILO 2021 data: 6.3 million people in commercial sexual exploitation from trafficking
13
17.3 million adults and 3.8 million children forced into labor services per ILO
14
UNODC notes 20% of victims are men, mostly for labor trafficking
15
Global Slavery Index 2023: 10 million children in modern slavery including trafficking
16
12 million people trafficked into forced labor in private sector per ILO 2022
17
UNODC 2022: Detection of labor trafficking victims increased by 37% in some regions
18
Estimated 40% underreporting of trafficking cases globally per experts
19
75% of trafficking victims experience physical or sexual violence per UNODC
20
ILO: $150 billion annual illegal profits from forced labor and trafficking
21
79% of forced labor profits from private sector trafficking per ILO
22
UNODC: Trafficking for organ removal affects 1-10% of cases
23
Global average conviction rate for trafficking: 47% per UNODC 2022
24
30% increase in online recruitment for trafficking post-COVID per UNODC
25
In 2021, 28 million in forced labor, half women/girls per ILO
26
UNODC detects 15% more victims annually since 2016
27
50% of child victims are girls per UNODC global data
28
Estimated 5 million sexually exploited children globally per UNICEF/ILO
29
Trafficking accounts for 25% of all transnational crime profits per UNODC
Interpretation
Global Prevalence Interpretation
While the staggering scale of modern slavery—tens of millions trapped in an economy of exploitation generating obscene profits—is a damning testament to our global failure, the pitiful trickle of convictions reveals a justice system still woefully outpaced by the traffickers' cruel ambition.
03 · Category
Labor Trafficking25 stats
01
35% of labor trafficking victims are in agriculture globally per ILO 2021
02
US: 1,000 labor trafficking cases reported to Hotline in 2022
03
Construction sector: 20% of global forced labor per ILO
04
In Qatar, 1.6 million migrant workers vulnerable to labor trafficking per Walk Free
05
Domestic work: 2.2 million in forced labor per ILO
06
Fishing industry: 150,000 forced laborers globally per ILO
07
US agriculture: 55% of labor trafficking cases per Polaris
08
India: 8 million in bonded labor from trafficking per ILO
09
Manufacturing: 15% of forced labor victims per ILO global estimate
10
Debt bondage traps 70% of labor trafficking victims per Anti-Slavery Int'l
11
In Europe, 50% labor trafficking from Asia per Eurostat
12
UAE: 150,000 domestic workers in forced labor conditions per HRW
13
US restaurant industry: 25% labor trafficking hotspots per DOL
14
80% of labor trafficking victims are male per UNODC
15
Brick kilns in Pakistan: 2 million bonded laborers per ILO
16
40 hours average weekly overtime without pay in labor trafficking per ILO surveys
17
Thailand fishing: 59% of boats use trafficked labor per Greenpeace
18
US: $245 million in goods produced by trafficked labor annually per Verité
19
60% labor trafficking involves false job promises per IOM
20
Mining sector: 1 million child laborers many trafficked per ILO
21
90% of labor trafficking in supply chains undetected per ILO
22
Saudi Arabia: 500,000 migrant workers in kafala system vulnerable per HRW
23
Garment factories Bangladesh: 400,000 at risk per SOMO
24
Average labor trafficking debt: $3,000per victim per IOM data
25
25% of global labor trafficking in Latin America agriculture per OIT
Interpretation
Labor Trafficking Interpretation
The grim accounting of modern slavery reveals a global ledger where human lives are tallied as cheap, disposable inputs, with the world’s food, buildings, and comforts built on a foundation of forced and bonded labor hiding in plain sight.
More related reading
04 · Category
Regional Statistics27 stats
01
East Asia: North Korea 100,000 forced child laborers per UN
02
Western Europe: 23,000 trafficking victims detected 2018-2020 per Eurostat
03
Sub-Saharan Africa: 7 million in modern slavery per Global Slavery Index 2023
04
South Asia: 18 million in forced labor per ILO
05
Middle East/North Africa: 2.9 million in modern slavery per GSI
06
North America: 1.1 million in modern slavery per GSI 2023
07
Latin America/Caribbean: 3 million trafficked laborers per ILO
08
Central Asia/Caucasus: 1.4 million vulnerable per UNODC
09
East Asia/Pacific: 13 million in modern slavery per GSI
10
Southeast Europe: 120,000 sex trafficking victims per ICMPD
11
US: Tier 1 in TIP Report but 17,000 cases 2022 per USDOS
12
India: Tier 2, 6,600 cases registered 2021 per NCRB
13
Nigeria: Tier 2 Watch List, 500 convictions 2022 per USDOS
14
Thailand: 300 sex trafficking arrests yearly per police
15
Mexico: 1,100 investigations 2022 per USDOS
16
Russia: 1,500 victims identified yearly per official data
17
China: Tier 3, forced labor in Xinjiang 1 million Uyghurs per USDOS
18
Brazil: 1,000 child labor rescues 2022 per MPT
19
South Africa: 200 trafficking prosecutions 2022 per SAPS
20
Turkey: Tier 2, 1,200 Syrian refugees trafficked per HRW
21
Ukraine: 250 child trafficking cases amid war per IOM 2023
22
Bangladesh: 400,000 Rohingya vulnerable per UNHCR
23
Gulf States: 2.4 million migrant workers exploited per ILO
24
Central America: 30% migrants trafficked en route per IOM
25
West Africa: Nigeria-Ghana corridor 10,000 victims yearly per ECOWAS
26
Balkans: 11,000 women trafficked to EU per UNODC
27
East Africa: 4,000 girls trafficked to Gulf per KRCS
Interpretation
Regional Statistics Interpretation
From North Korea's state-enforced child labor to the Gulf's exploited migrant workers, these numbers sketch a grotesque map where modern slavery isn't a relic but a thriving, global enterprise hiding in plain sight.
05 · Category
Sex Trafficking30 stats
01
90% of sex trafficking victims know their trafficker per Polaris
02
In the US, 92% of sex trafficking survivors are female per Polaris 2023 analysis
03
Average age of entry into sex trafficking in US is 12-14 years per FBI data
04
US National Human Trafficking Hotline received 10,359 sex trafficking signals in 2021
05
66% of sex trafficking cases involve US citizens per DOJ 2022
06
Online platforms used in 63% of sex trafficking cases per Thorn 2022
07
Sex trafficking generates $99 billion annually in Asia-Pacific per ILO
08
In Europe, 95% of detected sex trafficking victims are women/girls per Eurostat
09
80% of sex-trafficked persons in India are under 25 per NHRC
10
Thailand sex trafficking: 300,000 victims annually per UNODC
11
In Nigeria, 60% of sex trafficking victims go to Italy per IOM
12
US: 1 in 6 runaways become sex trafficking victims per NCMEC
13
75% of sex trafficking in hotels/motels per Polaris 2020
14
Pimps in US sex trafficking earn $670,000/year per Urban Institute
15
40% of sex trafficking victims have substance abuse issues per HHS
16
Escort sites account for 80% of online sex trafficking ads per Thorn
17
In sex trafficking, 89% report psychological coercion per Polaris
18
Mexico-US border: 20,000 sex trafficked women yearly per Coyote Coalition
19
70% of sex trafficking victims re-victimized within 2 years per NIJ study
20
Cambodia: 15,000 women/girls in sex trafficking per ECPAT
21
55% of sex trafficking prosecutions in US involve minors per DOJ
22
Average sex trafficking victim sees 5-10 buyers daily per survivor reports
23
Philippines: 100,000 sex trafficking victims per UNODC
24
85% of sex trafficking in US uses social media for recruitment per FBI
25
Sex trafficking hotspots: 50% in urban areas per UNODC
26
60% of international sex trafficking from Eastern Europe per Eurostat
27
In sex trafficking, debt bondage used in 65% cases per ILO
28
US sex trafficking: 300,000 youth at risk per HHS
29
45% of sex trafficking victims pregnant during exploitation per medical studies
30
ILO: 4.8 million adults trafficked for forced sexual exploitation
Interpretation
Sex Trafficking Interpretation
The grim reality is that sex trafficking is not a distant, anonymous crime but a horrifyingly intimate betrayal, preying predominantly on young and vulnerable girls—often lured by someone they know, exploited through psychological coercion on platforms we all use, and trapped in a cycle of abuse that is as lucrative for the traffickers as it is devastating for the millions of victims worldwide.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
James Okoro. (2026, February 13). Trafficking Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/trafficking-statistics
MLA
James Okoro. "Trafficking Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/trafficking-statistics.
Chicago
James Okoro. 2026. "Trafficking Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/trafficking-statistics.
Sources & references
40 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level