Global Report on Trafficking in Persons

The 2018 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons shows that 70 per cent of the detected trafficking victims worldwide are female. Around half are adult women, while girls comprise a fifth of all victims and their share of the total is increasing. Sexual exploitation continues to be the main purpose for trafficking, accounting for some 59 per cent, while forced labour accounts for around 34 per cent of all detected cases. For children, the patterns appear to be slightly different. While boys are mainly trafficked for forced labour (50 per cent), many are also trafficked for sexual exploitation (27 per cent) and ‘other’ forms of exploitation such as begging, child soldiers and forced criminal activities. Girls were trafficked in 72 per cent of cases for sexual exploitation and in 21 per cent of cases for forced labour.

The report highlights that circumstances generated or exacerbated by armed conflict, such as displacement, weak rule of law, socio-economic hardship, social fragmentation and family breakdown, increase people’s vulnerability to trafficking. Within conflict areas, not only armed groups but also other criminals traffic people fleeing danger and persecution. Forcibly displaced populations have been targeted by traffickers, including settlements of Syrian and Iraqi refugees, Afghans and Rohingya.

The 2018 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons is the fourth of its kind mandated by the General Assembly through the 2010 United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. It covers 142 countries and provides an overview of patterns and flows of trafficking in persons at global, regional and national levels, based primarily on trafficking cases detected between 2014 and 2016. As UNODC has been systematically collecting data on trafficking in persons for more than a decade, trend information is presented for a broad range of indicators.

The Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018 is being launched just weeks after the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which reinforced the existing international legal framework and highlighted the key importance of the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol.

Find more information and country profiles on the UNODC website.