Nearly 30 million people around the world are living in conditions of modern slavery, half of them in India, according to a new index published by the Australia-based rights organization Walk Free Foundation.

This is the inaugural edition of the Global Slavery Index - providing a ranking of 162 countries -- based on an estimated number of people living in modern slavery today.

Out of an estimated 29.8 million people living in modern slavery worldwide, India has the highest number of people enslaved in absolute terms - approximately 14 million - almost half of the total number worldwide.

India's neighbor China follows, with an estimated 2.9 million enslaved, and another neighbor Pakistan comes in third with an estimate of over two million. Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh make up the top ten in the ranking. Taken together, these countries account for 76 percent of the global total of enslaved labor.

Mauritania is ranked first on the Index, with the highest estimated proportion of its population enslaved of any country in the world. The West African country, with its deeply entrenched system of hereditary slavery, is thought to have an estimated 150,000 slaves, or four percent of its population of only 3.8 million. Haiti, a Caribbean nation where child slavery is also widespread, is in second place, followed by Pakistan and India.

While Asia and Africa are home to the vast majority of modern slaves, no continent is free from modern slavery. Globally, Iceland, Ireland and the UK are tied with the lowest rankings in the Index. It is estimated that only 4,000 people are enslaved in the UK.

Walk Free Foundation CEO Nick Grono says "it would be comforting to think that slavery is a relic of history, but it remains a scar on humanity on every continent. This is the first slavery index but it can already shape national and global efforts to root out modern slavery across the world. We now know that just ten countries are home to over three quarters of those trapped in modern slavery. These nations must be the focus of global efforts."

"Most governments don't dig deeply into slavery for a lot of bad reasons. There are exceptions, but many governments don't want to know about people who can't vote, who are hidden away, and are likely to be illegal anyway. The laws are in place, but the tools and resources and the political will are lacking. And since hidden slaves can't be counted it is easy to pretend they don't exist. The Index aims to change that," said Prof. Kevin Bales, the lead researcher on the Index.

The index was compiled by using a combined measure of three factors: the estimated prevalence of modern slavery by population, a measure of child marriage and data from human trafficking in and out of a country.

It defined modern slavery in the forms of human trafficking, forced labor, and slavery or slavery-like practices such as debt bondage, forced or servile marriage, and sale or exploitation of children including in armed conflict.

The Index also identifies factors that shed light on the risk of modern slavery in each country and examines the strength of government responses in tackling this issue.

The Walk Free Foundation said the Global Slavery Index was created in consultation with an international panel of experts from international organizations, think tanks and academic institutions. The new survey has been endorsed by global personalities including former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and software tycoon Bill Gates, the Foundation claims.

It plans to publish Global Slavery Index every year, "producing the most detailed global picture of the numbers of enslaved people available."

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