Nearly 30 million people around the world are slaves with India, China and Pakistan being among the worst offenders

Ten countries accounted for 76% of the 29.8 million people living in slavery. Those countries are India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Mauritania in West Africa has the highest number of slaves proportionately, with up to 160,000 enslaved in a population of 3.8 million. The highest absolute numbers are almost 14 million slaves in India and 3 million in China. In China there is forced labor of men, women and children, including domestic servitude and forced begging, sexual exploitation of women and children and forced marriage. The lowest levels of slavery are in Iceland, Ireland and Britain. Up to 4,400 people are estimated to be enslaved in Britain, the victims mainly from Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. They are forced into sex work, domestic servitude, or low-paid jobs in agriculture, construction, restaurants and nail salons.