Human Trafficking Countries Ranking and List: Worldwide Country Statistics

Seeing how human trafficking has always been a relevant matter for discussion, we decided to provide our readers with an overview of human trafficking countries ranking and list and worldwide country statistics.

Human trafficking is recognized as a modern form of slavery nowadays. Without a doubt, it represents the gravest human rights violation. Those who are the victims of human trafficking are deprived of their fundamental rights, reducing them to mere objects. The very moment they are denied the possibility to act on their own, they become less human. Traffickers certainly see their victims as not human. Otherwise, they would not subject them to such degrading treatment. Given that, more often than not, victims are not in the position to seek help, it is our duty to continually point to the problem and urge policymakers to draft policies that would effectively tackle the problem, thereby giving the voice to those who are silenced. While it is not realistic to expect that we would manage in eradicating the issue completely, we can hope to minimise the damage.

This is not the first time we touch upon the issue of human trafficking. Not that long ago, we published an article on countries with the highest rates of human trafficking in the world.  Bangladesh, Brazil, Haiti, Pakistan, and India were among top 5 worst human trafficking countries on the list. If you are curious about the leading top 10 human trafficking cities in the world, you should check out Top 15 Cities With Highest Human Trafficking in the World.

The mighty USA has also made human trafficking countries list. This is just to say that the issue is very much present everywhere. Out article 16 Statistics About Human Trafficking in the United States paints quite the picture of what the problem is like in the USA. It is questionable how effective the US legal system is in dealing with the issue since it has been estimated that for every 100.000 victims, there are only three cases. While there is a lot of space for policy improvement, this country does not embody the worst cases of human trafficking.

One of the countries where the issue is far more prominent is India. As we pointed out in our article 10 Human Trafficking Facts in India: History, Causes and Statistics there has been an increase in human trafficking rate in the past couple of years. Corruption presents a major impediment in trying to solve the problem. The possible explanations for such high human trafficking rate in India are growing gender imbalance and  India’s sex industry. Bangladesh has recently become home to many biggest human traffickers. Sexual predators often target Rohingya camps, looking for orphans and women to be trafficked. While very much present, Bangladesh’s human trafficking does not get the attention it deserves, since everyone is preoccupied with an ongoing conflict. It is not only Asian countries which have among the highest rates of human trafficking. Russia is one of the European countries which has made some improvement in trying to deal with the issue, yet much remains to be done. Russia’s human trafficking assumes forced labor and sexual exploitation of men, women and children alike.

There is no doubt that any type of human trafficking is degrading to human persona and constitutes an attack on basic human liberties. However, child trafficking is something I personally believe should be punished most severely. Children are more susceptible to becoming trafficked as their naivety and obliviousness make them an easy target for predators. According to the information provided by Phantom Rescue, more than 30,000 children die every year in sex-trafficking. Furthermore, more than 300,000 underage girls are sold for sex in America. The data on child trafficking show that China and Uzbekistan are among countries with highest child trafficking.

What follows is the list of 12 human trafficking countries. In order to create the human trafficking countries ranking and list, I used the data provided by the UN Office on Drugs in their reports on trafficking in persons and the data contained in the reports published by the US Department of State. These reports contain human trafficking by country statistics, allowing me to rank top 12 countries. Furthermore, these are the most relevant sources of data when it comes to human trafficking. The countries are ranked based on which group they were categorized as in the reports published by the US Department of State in the past six years. Those on Tier 2 Watchlist have the highest rates of human trafficking, while those categorized as Tier 3 are countries whose governments do not make any efforts at eradicating human trafficking. I did not consider countries in Tier 1 and Tier 2 groups as these have lower rates of human trafficking and their governments are putting significant efforts into dealing with the issue. And now, let’s see the human trafficking countries ranking and list.

12. Ghana

For the past three years, Ghana has been categorized as a Tier 2 Watchlist, suggesting that there are serious human rights violations taking place as a result of human trafficking. Before this, the country was grouped with Tier 2 countries. I wonder what the possible explanation is for the deterioration shown in the reports.

11. Gabon

In 2017 report Gabon was on Tier 2 Watchlist. The report suggests that Gabon is a country of transit for human trafficking victims from other African countries. Most of the victims are children, boys, and girls who are subject to involuntary servitude and exploitation.

10. Bolivia

Bolivia ranks 10th in our human trafficking countries ranking and list. It precedes other South American countries when it comes to human trafficking. Its human trafficking rate is among the highest in the continent which shows in the reports. The country has been categorized as Tier 2 Watchlist for four consecutive years. It is a source country for women, who are forced into prostitution and men, who are victims of forced labor abroad.

9. Laos

This country has made it to top 10 human trafficking countries on our list. The country has an alarmingly high rate of human trafficking. It is the source country for women and girls who are subject to sexual exploitation in neighboring countries. Internal trafficking also presents itself as a serious issue. Things look hopeful, as the government of Laos is making efforts at tackling the issue. I do hope the results will show in the next report.

8. Pakistan

Pakistan is grouped among other Tier 2 Watchlist countries in 2017 report. This has been the case for the past four years. Pakistan is the source, transit and destination country for the victims of human trafficking. Most of the adults and children who are trafficked are subject to forced labor, and to a lesser extent forced into prostitution. Children trafficked are often used for begging.

7. Belarus

Belarus ranks 7th in our human trafficking countries ranking and list. It is among European countries with highest rates of human trafficking. Despite the fact that there are severe human rights violations resulting from trafficking in persons, the government is not putting any efforts into policy change that would help in solving the problem. It appears that there is no reason to hope for an improvement. Forced prostitution is the biggest problem.

6. Haiti

The government of Haiti does not prioritize anti-trafficking since the country has a very high human trafficking rate. So it’s no wonder that this country is 6th in our human trafficking countries ranking and list. As 2017 report indicates, most of the human trafficking victims are children who are used for domestic servitude. These children are often physically abused, are not paid for their work and have low school enrolment rates.

5. Myanmar

In the past six years, the country was categorized as Tier 2 Watchlist for five times! It is a source country for women and children who are forced into prostitution in other countries, and for men who are subject to forced labor. Furthermore, children are often forced into begging on the streets of neighboring countries. Even the state actor, the military of Myanmar, is involved in human rights violations, as it is the major perpetrator of forced labor.

4. Djibouti

As the report suggests, the crisis in Yemen in 2015 has resulted in many people fleeing to Djibouti, a lot of whom were exploited as the victims of human trafficking by the time they reached their final destination. Women and children are particularly susceptible to domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. To a lesser extent, children are forced to commit small crimes such as theft.

3. Venezuela

For the past four years, Venezuela which ranks third in our human trafficking countries ranking and list, has been grouped among Tier 3 countries. Despite the severe cases of human trafficking, the government does not show any interest to eradicate them. Venezuela is the source, transit, and destination for persons trafficked who are subject to forced labor and sexual exploitation. Women and girls are often lured into urban areas of the country where they are forced into prostitution. Furthermore, child prostitution is not uncommon in Venezuela.

2. Saudi Arabia

In the last report, Saudi Arabia, the number two in our human trafficking countries ranking and list, was categorized as Tier 2 Watchlist. The country is the destination for victims trafficked from Asian and African countries. Most of the human trafficking cases involve forced labor. Those who are forced into domestic servitude are often physically and sexually abused. Moreover, they are often restricted their freedom of movement and are not paid for their work.

1. Thailand

Thailand occupies the 1^st place on our list of 12 human trafficking countries. Illegal migration to Thailand creates opportunities for traffickers to find victims. As the report indicates, the major sectors of Thailand’s economy are overflown with illegal immigrants who are exploited. When it comes to sex trafficking, Thailand is a destination country. The majority of sex workers in Thailand’s sex industry are foreigners.

This was Insider Monkey’s overview of human trafficking countries ranking and list and worldwide country statistics.