It is estimated that more than 40 million people around the world are enslaved, an appalling number that may even be an underestimate. Slavery is a product of repressive or indifferent governments, restrictive societies and conflict-torn countries. It is generally believed that slavery is a problem for developing countries when in fact an equally important, and typically overlooked, factor is the readiness of developed world consumers to turn a blind eye to the conditions under which the products they buy are made. A spotlight on slavery and a new understanding of global supply chains can help address this problem and, with hard work, be reduced if not eliminated.

Slavery involves the use of threats, violence and deception to deprive an individual of the ability to control his or her body, to refuse certain kinds of work or to stop working altogether. According to the Global Slavery Index, an annual report produced by the Walk Free Foundation, an Australian nonprofit organization, an estimated 40.3 million people worldwide were enslaved in 2016. India has the highest number of slaves — an estimated 8 million in a population of 1.3 billion people — while one person in 10 in North Korea lives in slave-like conditions. According to the index, 60 percent of the world's slaves can be found in just five countries — India, North Korea, China, Pakistan and Nigeria.

The report notes that Africa has the highest rate of enslavement of any region, with more than 9 million people living in slavery. That number reflects conditions on the continent. In Eritrea, for example, "a repressive regime abuses its conscription system to hold its citizens in forced labor for decades." The index identifies Eritrea and North Korea as having the world's highest rates of modern slavery and blames state-sponsored forced labor, where people are put to work to prop up the government.