Slavery still exists in the 21st century. It is usually called modern slavery or neo-slavery. The ways in which people are made slaves, or kept in slave-like conditions have changed. There no longer is a definition everyone agrees on.[1] Estimates of the number of slaves today, range from around 38 million[2] to 49.6 million,[3][4][5] depending on the method used to form the estimate and the definition of slavery being used.[6] Those in slavery are often difficult to identify, and difficult to count.
The International Labour Organization[7] estimates that, by their definitions, over 40 million people are in some form of slavery today. 24.9 million people are in forced labor, of whom 16 million people are exploited in the private sector such as domestic work, construction or agriculture,[8] 4.8 million people in forced sexual exploitation, and 4 million people in forced labour imposed by state authorities.[8] An additional 15.4 million people are in forced marriages.[8]