Europe and Central Asia hotspots as forced labour profits reach $236bn
Forced commercial sexual exploitation accounts for 73% of total
Annual private sector profits from forced labour have reached $236bn, up 37%, or $64bn, since 2014 with Europe and the Central Asia region top of the list, according to figures from the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The ILO said the “dramatic increase” has been fuelled by a growth in the number of people forced into labour and higher profits generated from the exploitation of victims.
The ILO’s Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour report estimates that traffickers and criminals are generating close to $10,000 per victim, up from $8,269, adjusted for inflation, a decade ago.
It finds that annual illegal profits from forced labour are highest in Europe and Central Asia at $84bn, followed by Asia and the Pacific at $62bn, the Americas at $52bn, Africa at $20bn and the Arab states with $18bn.
Annual illegal profits are also highest in Europe and Central Asia when calculated per victim, followed by the Arab states, the Americas, Africa and then Asia and the Pacific.
Forced commercial sexual exploitation accounts for 73% of the total illegal profits, despite accounting for only 27% of the total number of victims in privately imposed labour.
This is because the average profit per victim of forced commercial sexual exploitation is $27,252 compared to $3,687 for forced labour exploitation.
Forced labour has the second highest annual illegal profit total at $35bn, with services next on $20.8bn, then agriculture on $5bn and domestic work on $2.6bn.
The report stresses the urgent need for investment in enforcement measures to stem illegal profit flows and hold perpetrators accountable. It recommends strengthening legal frameworks, providing training for enforcement officials, extending labour inspection into high-risk sectors, and better coordination between labour and criminal law enforcement.
“Forced labour perpetuates cycles of poverty and exploitation and strikes at the heart of human dignity. We now know that the situation has only got worse. The international community must urgently come together to take action to end this injustice,” said Gilbert F. Houngbo, ILO director-general.
