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Slavery still exists. The United Nations says about 50 million people are enslaved today. They are in forced labour or marriages. The U.N. said one in 150 people in the world is enslaved. This number increased by 20 per cent in the past few years. It is growing because of coronavirus, climate change, and the cost of living crisis. These have made many people poor. They can only survive by working in terrible conditions having an unwanted marriage.
The UN hoped to end modern slavery by 2030. However, the number of people in forced labour or forced marriage has increased. Slavery happens when people "cannot refuse or cannot leave because of threats". This problem is not just in poor countries. The UN said: "It would be a mistake to believe that forced labour is solely the problem of poor countries." Over half of forced workers and a quarter of forced marriages are in richer countries.
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