Facts & figures - Youth Underground (2024)

• Human trafficking is the 2^nd largest criminal trade in the world after arms.
• Human trafficking is the fastest-growing illicit trade in the world.
• Human trafficking generates over$150 billion in profits every year.
• 40.3 million people are living as slaves worldwide, 5 times the population of Switzerland.
• Globally, the average cost of a “slave” – a trafficked human being – is $90.
• The U.S. accounts for almost 52% of global human trafficking with the sex trafficking of minors accounting for the largest percentage.
• Traffickers make over $9.5 billion annually in the U.S. alone.

• The prime victims of human trafficking are less than 18 years old.
• 1 in 4 victims of human trafficking are children.
• The younger the child is, the more profit a trafficker makes.
• Approximately 130 people are trafficked worldwide every hour. Most of these are children.
• Over one million children are trafficked for the sex trade every year.
• Approximately 30 million children have lbeen trafficked over the last 30 years.
• Some children forced into human trafficking are as young as 4 years old. Some are toddlers.
• 4 million people, especially children, are living in forced marriages. This is slavery.
• One third of the 15 million victims of forced marriage are under the age of 18. Nearly half of these are younger than 15.
• 152 million children were victims of child labor in 2016, which amounts to nearly one in every 10 children worldwide.
• Sexual exploitation earns 66% of the global profits of human trafficking.
• The average age of a sex trafficked childis 13-14 years old.
• A pimp can make up to $150,000-$200,000 per child a year.
• 1 in 3 children who run away from home are approached by a trafficker within 48 hours of their running away.
• 76% of transactions for human trafficking with underage girls, start on the internet.
• Children as young as 10 have been driven to attempt suicide or have suffered serious mental health problems after being trafficked as sex slaves or forced laborers in situations “akin to torture.”
• Youth experiencing homelessness are at risk for sex trafficking and mental health concerns, including suicide ideation.

• Male survivors of human trafficking are the silent victims of an already hidden crime.
• 50% of sexually trafficked and exploited children are male.
• 1/5 of all male victims trafficked into sexual exploitation are under 11 years of age.
• Human trafficking is just one symptom of an enormous refugee crisis – the largest since World War II.
• There has been a 600% increase in sex trafficking of migrants in Europe over last three years.
• 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across borders worldwide every year. These figures are the highest ever recorded in history since the slave trade two centuries ago.
• More than 20,000 minors have disappeared into human trafficking in Europe alone over the last 2 years.
• At least 10,000 unaccompanied minor refugees have been reported missing after reaching Europe, and many of them are believed to have fallen victim to trafficking.
• 139 goods from 75 countries are made by forced and child labor.
• 9 million people are subjected to forced labor every year.
• Cases of human trafficking caused by climate change in the past 5 years have increased by at least 600%.
• 75% of victims who were trafficked in the past decade were advertised online.

• Switzerland is primarily a destination and a transit country for women, children, and transgender people subjected to sex trafficking.
• Switzerland is primarily a destination and a transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor, including forced begging and forced criminal activity.
• Switzerland is home to between 2,000 and 3,000 victims of human trafficking.
• The majority of human trafficking victims in Switzerland are women and children forced into prostitution, begging and stealing.
• Some human trafficking victims in Switzerland are as young as 14 years old. Most of the victims have experienced violence and abuse prior to arriving in Switzerland.
• Switzerland is a destination for foreign trafficking victims primarily from Central and Eastern Europe.
• Switzerland noted an increase in the number of womentrafficked for sexual exploitation from Eastern Europe, specifically Romania.
• Traffickers in Switzerland get away on suspended sentences, instead of being sentenced to 20 years in prison, the maximum sentence for trafficking.
• Of the 22 convictions of human traffickers in Switzerland, only 11 resulted in prison time 2016.
• Switzerland has cases of domestic servitude especially in the diplomatic community, a hidden crime in a sheltered community.
• The helpline numbers in Switzerland are+41 800 24 7 365and 0 800 24 7 365, available 365 days a year – around the clock.
• The Geneva hotline number is 0800 20 80 20 (open from 14:00-18:00 Monday-Friday).
• For more information, check theFederal Department of Foreign Affairs website.

Note: Youth Underground is based in Switzerland.

Sources: The UN, the ILO, IOM, UNODC, UNICEF, UNHCR, The U.S. Department of State, The Counter Trafficking Data Collective.