Catalina Espinosa
Research expert covering society, economy, and politics for Europe and the EU
Human trafficking - statistics & facts
Between 2008 and 2023, the number of human trafficking victims identified worldwide more than quadrupled from around 30,000 to nearly 134,000. Despite increased international attention and resources from the states and other non-governmental institutions, the number of people falling victim to human trafficking around the world continues to grow. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of trafficking victims fell as travel restrictions made human trafficking more difficult, but they were back at pre-pandemic levels in 2022. However, trafficking in persons is an illegal practice that is shrouded in secrecy, and it is therefore nearly impossible to measure it in its entirety.
On the other hand, women are primarily victims of sexual exploitation, with over 90 percent of people trafficked for this purpose in 2022 being women. Whilst forced labor and exploitation of other forms certainly are an issue, the disturbing images of women falling victim to the global sex trade remain as omnipresent as ever. In the United States, for instance, the sheer number of female victims is reflected in the dominant share of women in calls to the national hotline for victims of human trafficking. Moreover, there are also significant gender differences among the victims of forced labor; while women are often recruited for domestic work as well as illicit purposes, men are overrepresented in the construction industry.
Forms of trafficking
The two primary forms of exploitation people are trafficked for are forced labor and sexual exploitation, with regional variances on the proportion of each. Although sexual exploitation remained the primary form until 2018, the prevalence of forced labor has grown in recent years and overtook sexual exploitation in 2022. This, in part, explains the rising share of male victims in human trafficking. Indeed, most victims trafficked for forced labor are men.On the other hand, women are primarily victims of sexual exploitation, with over 90 percent of people trafficked for this purpose in 2022 being women. Whilst forced labor and exploitation of other forms certainly are an issue, the disturbing images of women falling victim to the global sex trade remain as omnipresent as ever. In the United States, for instance, the sheer number of female victims is reflected in the dominant share of women in calls to the national hotline for victims of human trafficking. Moreover, there are also significant gender differences among the victims of forced labor; while women are often recruited for domestic work as well as illicit purposes, men are overrepresented in the construction industry.
Fight against human trafficking
On the international level, in 2023, South and Central Asia were the regions with the highest number of trafficking victims, and the highest number of prosecutions related to human trafficking was also conducted there. Accordingly, these prosecutions resulted in numerous convictions. With the number of convictions worldwide more than doubling between 2008 and 2023, there is some reason to believe that improvements are being made in removing the terror of human trafficking and exploitation of many of the world’s most vulnerable people. However, as the number of victims is impossible to identify exactly, so is the number of traffickers, which probably continues to be far higher than those prosecuted and convicted.
