Library.
3 verifications about Modern Slavery Modern Slavery ×
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True 9/10
“In 2021, about 29.3 million people were living in modern slavery in Asia and the Pacific.”
The evidence supports this figure as the Global Slavery Index 2023 estimate for Asia and the Pacific in 2021. The main confusion comes from comparing “modern slavery” with “forced labour” alone or from weaker secondary sources that misstate the number. This is a modelled point-in-time estimate, not a direct census count.
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True 9/10
“In 2021, North Korea had the highest prevalence of modern slavery in the world.”
The best-supported 2021 estimates place North Korea at the top of the world for modern-slavery prevalence. Walk Free’s Global Slavery Index 2023 explicitly uses 2021 as its reference year and ranks North Korea first, and major news coverage accurately reflects that result. The main caveat is that the estimate is model-based because direct data from North Korea are limited.
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Mostly False 3/10
“The number of people living in modern slavery worldwide has increased by 25% over the last decade.”
The evidence supports a roughly 25% increase in modern slavery, but not over a decade. The main global estimates show an increase from about 40.3 million in 2016 to 50 million in 2021, which is a five-year change. Saying this happened “over the last decade” misstates the timeframe and materially alters the claim’s accuracy.