What Is The Global Slavery Index?

The Global Slavery Index 2013 measures the size of the modern slavery problem, country by country. The Index provides a quantitative ranking of 162 countries around the world according to the estimated prevalence

of modern slavery (that is, theestimated percentage of enslaved people in the national population at a point in time). The Index is constructed from three quantitative indicators on prevalence, one of which was generated internally (estimated prevalence of slavery), and two of which are based on an analysis of pre-existing data from UNICEF and the US Trafficking in Persons report.

The second section, on the risk of modern slavery, analyses risk based on an assessment of 31 qualitative and quantitative indicators that reflect five key dimensions: a country's anti-slavery policies; a country's respect for human rights; a country’s level of human and economic development; the stability of the government and the institutions of the country; and the level of discrimination against women in a country. All of these indicators are generated externally by respected sources and were selected by the research team on the basis of statistical testing for their relationship to the prevalence of slavery.

The third section, on government responses to slavery analyses the strength of government responses, and includes country studies for 20 countries. These studies describe the problem, government responses, and action needed. Additional country studies are on the website. Future editions of the report will examine responses of all countries listed in the Index.