Nigeria Has the Largest Number of Enslaved People In Africa- Global Slavery Index 2016
Wed Jun 01, 2016 09:26:am Lifestyle
3.8K By Buchi Obichie
The Global Slavery Index 2016, released on Tuesday, has revealed that Nigeria has more enslaved people than any country in Sub-Saharan Africa! The survey, conducted in 167 countries across the world by anti-modern slavery organization, Walk Free Foundation, revealed that there are 875,500 people living in slavery in Nigeria.
The survey said of the 45.8 million people living in slavery in the world, 13.6 percent (6,228,800) are in Africa.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (873,100 people) and Ethiopia (411,600 people) have the second and third largest numbers of people living in slavery sub-Saharan Africa respectively.
Slavery in Nigeria takes the form of forced labour in the domestic sector. Forced marriages also account for the second highest form of slavery in the country, the survey showed.
Also, conflict, economic crisis and environmental disaster were revealed as the major enablers of modern slavery in Sub-Saharan Africa.
For instance, the survey showed that the Boko Haram conflict in the country's north east led to an increase of people living in slavery in Nigeria and other neighbouring countries like Chad and Cameroon.
Thousands of people in the north east region have been kidnapped by the sect; most of them are women and children who are used as sex slaves and put to forced labour.
"Modern slavery in the Sub-Sahara was enabled by economic conditions, violent conflict and territorial displacement, in addition to widespread humanitarian and environmental crises," the report said.
"The escalation of violence in Nigeria following the Boko Haram conflict has had widespread effects on Nigeria and across the region, particularly in Cameroon where refugees fleeing conflict have sparked a humanitarian crisis.
"As of February 2016, 2.5 million people were displaced as a result of the conflict and 20,000 people have been killed. Conflict is also prevalent in Chad and Cameroon, where Boko Haram is also active in creating violent conflicts, and in recruiting young entrepreneurs through predatory loans."
The report has been described as the most accurate up-to-date analysis of slavery in history; and was arrived at after 42,000 interviews conducted in 53 languages, covering 44% of global population.
It revealed that there are 28 percent (10 million) more people in slavery across the world than previously estimated. Modern slavery, it noted, takes the form of human trafficking, forced labour, debt bondage, forced or servile marriage or commercial sexual exploitation.
On a global scale, North Korea is the country with the "greatest prevalence of modern slavery, with 4.37% of its population estimated to be enslaved. It is also the country with the weakest government response in terms of actions taken to combat modern slavery," the report showed. In terms of absolute numbers, the report discovered that India has the highest with an estimated 18.35 million enslaved people, followed by China (3.39m), Pakistan (2.13m), Bangladesh (1.53m) and Uzbekistan (1.23m).
Combined, these five countries account for almost 58% of the world's enslaved, or 26.6 million people.
The survey said of the 45.8 million people living in slavery in the world, 13.6 percent (6,228,800) are in Africa.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (873,100 people) and Ethiopia (411,600 people) have the second and third largest numbers of people living in slavery sub-Saharan Africa respectively.
Slavery in Nigeria takes the form of forced labour in the domestic sector. Forced marriages also account for the second highest form of slavery in the country, the survey showed.
Also, conflict, economic crisis and environmental disaster were revealed as the major enablers of modern slavery in Sub-Saharan Africa.
For instance, the survey showed that the Boko Haram conflict in the country's north east led to an increase of people living in slavery in Nigeria and other neighbouring countries like Chad and Cameroon.
Thousands of people in the north east region have been kidnapped by the sect; most of them are women and children who are used as sex slaves and put to forced labour.
"Modern slavery in the Sub-Sahara was enabled by economic conditions, violent conflict and territorial displacement, in addition to widespread humanitarian and environmental crises," the report said.
"The escalation of violence in Nigeria following the Boko Haram conflict has had widespread effects on Nigeria and across the region, particularly in Cameroon where refugees fleeing conflict have sparked a humanitarian crisis.
"As of February 2016, 2.5 million people were displaced as a result of the conflict and 20,000 people have been killed. Conflict is also prevalent in Chad and Cameroon, where Boko Haram is also active in creating violent conflicts, and in recruiting young entrepreneurs through predatory loans."
The report has been described as the most accurate up-to-date analysis of slavery in history; and was arrived at after 42,000 interviews conducted in 53 languages, covering 44% of global population.
It revealed that there are 28 percent (10 million) more people in slavery across the world than previously estimated. Modern slavery, it noted, takes the form of human trafficking, forced labour, debt bondage, forced or servile marriage or commercial sexual exploitation.
On a global scale, North Korea is the country with the "greatest prevalence of modern slavery, with 4.37% of its population estimated to be enslaved. It is also the country with the weakest government response in terms of actions taken to combat modern slavery," the report showed. In terms of absolute numbers, the report discovered that India has the highest with an estimated 18.35 million enslaved people, followed by China (3.39m), Pakistan (2.13m), Bangladesh (1.53m) and Uzbekistan (1.23m).
Combined, these five countries account for almost 58% of the world's enslaved, or 26.6 million people.
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