The oil trade and the financial service sector are widely considered to be some of the most profitable industries in the world, but modern slavery generates even more profits according to a UN report.
The report by the UN’s International Labour Office (ILO) found global profits from exploiting a forced labour force of around 20.9 million people worldwide generates $150.2 billion per year.
This compares to around $120 billion generated by the global oil trade and $141.3 billion generated by the US financial system each year.
The profits from forced labour is greatest in Asia-Pacific ($51.8bn) and the developed economies and the EU ($46.9bn), where a single victim of forced labour generates $34,800 for those exploiting them each year.
Forced sexual exploitation is the most profitable form of forced labour, generating $99 billion per year around the world, with the average sex slave generating $21,800 per years for their captors.