Global Slavery Index: India’s slave count went down by 10.3 million in 2 years?

Washington, July 20: Results of a global survey by human rights group Walk Free Foundation (WFF) published on Thursday, July 19, has said that India is home to 8 million slaves among its whopping population of 1.3 billion, Reuters reported.

The latest calculation shows the number less than by 10 million as it was found in 2016 (18.3 million), the report said, adding that the difference was because of changes in methodology as told by Walk Free. The changes reflect ways of counting people engaged in slavery on a given day or over a longer period, the report added.

The other four nations with the highest number of slaves are China, Pakistan, North Korea and Nigeria, making up 60 per cent of the global figures, according to WFF.

In terms of highest slavery, however, North Korea and Eritrea topped the list, said the 2018 Global Slavery Index, adding that the African nation of Burundi also featured among nations with a high prevalence of slavery.

Minderoo Foundation, which led the data collection, said the three countries mentioned above see state-sponsored forced labour where their own governments make people work for their own benefits, Reuters added.

More than 40 million people remained enslaved around the world in 2016, according to a report by WFF and ILO (International Labour Organization), the Reuters report added.

Other countries that have high rates of slavery are the Central African Republic, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Pakistan.