How prevalent is modern slavery in the Philippines?

By Mark T. Amoguis, Researcher
Modern slavery refers to situations of exploitation that include human trafficking, forced labor, debt bondage, forced or servile marriage, and sale or exploitation of children among other things. Around 40.3 million people are said to be victims of modern slavery around the world in 2016, 60% of whom are found in ten countries (India, China, Pakistan, North Korea, Nigeria, Iran, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Russia, and the Philippines), according to the 2018 edition of the Global Slavery Index.

In terms of prevalence of modern slavery, North Korea tops the list at 104.6 per 1,000 people. The Philippines, meanwhile, ranked 30th overall (out of 167 countries) with 7.70 per 1,000 people. The Philippines is also considered to be highly vulnerable to modern slavery with an average score of 60.24, above the global and Asia Pacific averages of 45.6 and 46.1, respectively.
However, the country is among the top performers in terms of government response in combatting slavery with a grade of BB compared to the average CCC response rating of governments across Asia-Pacific.