WASHINGTON – The Philippines has an estimated 780,000 of its population living in slavery and is among the leaders in the Asia- Pacific region in responding to the fight against modern slavery, according to the 2018 Global Slavery Index.
It said the Philippines had the 12th highest prevalence of modern slavery in the region with 7.7 per 1,000 people.
In contrast, North Korea has the highest prevalence of modern slavery in the world with one out of every 10 citizens considered victims. Japan has 0.3 victims per 1,000 population.
Based on government response in battling slavery the Philippines had a score of 55.8 points in the index covering 167 countries. A higher score indicates a stronger response.
In the 2016 index the Philippines had a score of 54.18 points. The index measures the extent of modern slavery in each country and the steps governments are taking to respond.
The index said the top five countries taking the most action to combat modern slavery were the Netherlands, the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden and Belgium.
The bottom five countries taking the least action were Iran, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Libya and North Korea.
There was no ranking of countries between those in the top and bottom rungs.