The Walk Free Foundation has just released a new report on slavery. They report that every nation has some degree of slavery that exists within it borders, and there are more than 45 million people living in slavery worldwide.
The images above show the figures for each country -- with the number in the right-hand column being the approximate number of people living in slavery in the country. The United States, which prides itself on being a free people, is not immune to the problem. About 57,700 people in the United States are living in slavery.
This is very troubling. How can it be that in the 21st century, we have not been able to wipe out this sick behavior -- even in countries where slavery is supposedly illegal? It makes me wonder just how much the human species has actually evolved. How can any advanced species tolerate people owning other people? Isn't slavery the epitome of anti-human rights?
NOTE -- I apologize for the small print in the above images, but I think if you'll click on them you'll get a little larger image (that hopefully will be easier to read).