Slavery is not a thing of the past. A report released Tuesday [19 September 2017] by the U.N.-affiliated International Labor Office (ILO) and the Walk Free Foundation estimates that there were 40.3 million people in some form of modern slavery around the world on any given day last year. But by its very nature, the accuracy of that figure is hard to gauge. Slavery tends to be a hidden, illegal practice... 

The Global Estimates of Modern Slavery study found that slavery occurs in every region - and probably every country - of the world. In terms of sheer numbers, the majority of modern slaves probably live in Asia and the Pacific region. Meanwhile, slavery as a practice is thought to be most prevalent in Africa. The report cautions, however, that with more accurate data, these rankings could well change...

The report is being released to coincide with the U.N. General Assembly, where progress made towards Sustainable Development Goals - a series of agreements made among countries to improve the world by 2030 - will be discussed...

There was also widespread variation in the type of slavery found. An estimated 24.9 million people were victims of forced labor in 2016, the report found. Most of these people (64 percent) were in forced labor exploitation in the private economy, most likely to be domestic workers, construction workers or those in manufacturing. A further 19 percent were in forced sexual exploitation while 17 percent were in state-imposed forced labor...