Time to Act: The 2023 Global Slavery Index & Modern Slavery Reporting Regimes

On 24 May 2023 the fifth Global Slavery Index (GSI) was released. The GSI presents national estimates of modern slavery for 160 countries, providing deep insight into the scale and composition of modern slavery today. The GSI also points to solutions.  

In this paper, we summarise the key findings of the 2023 GSI. For example:

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1. An estimated 50 million people are in slavery today, marking a 25% increase over five years. 27.6 million are in forced labour.

2. Whilst the prevalence of slavery in G20 countries is low, this masks their responsibility. US$468bn of G20 imported goods are at risk of modern slavery. Nearly two-thirds of all forced labour cases are connected to global supply chains.

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We ask, in response to this surging humanitarian challenge, what are governments requiring of companies with regards to human rights due diligence now and in the near future?

To that end, we provide an overview of legislation targeting the activities of companies - their operations and their supply chains - with respect to human rights due diligence.

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