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Global overview

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forms other than sexual exploitation, forced labour or 
organ removal has increased from 3 per cent in 2006 to 
6 per cent in 2010 and 7 per cent in 2011 worldwide. 
Between 2010 and 2012, some 60 per cent of the victims 
falling into this category were women or girls. The broad 
’other forms’ category includes very different types of traf-
ficking in persons that often involve victims with different 
profiles. Trafficking for forced armed combat - or child 
soldiers - targets mainly boys. Mixed forms of labour and 
sexual exploitation mainly affects women, whereas forced 
marriages usually involve victims that are girls or young 
women. Trafficking for begging and/or committing petty 
crime mainly involves children, both girls and boys, as 
does trafficking for the production of pornographic mate-
rial. For some other forms of exploitation, including for 
fraudulent state benefit claims and other purposes not 
listed here, the profile information is not known.

TRAFFICKING FLOWS

Trafficking in persons is a crime of global scope that leaves 
virtually no country unaffected. An analysis of the geo-
graphic dimension of this crime, that is, where victims are 
trafficked to and from, can help in identifying and moni-
toring acute situations and inform the prioritization of 
anti-trafficking efforts. Information regarding the citizen-
ships of detected victims in their destination countries is 
crucial for mapping the trafficking flows, and many 
Member States were able to provide such information to 
UNODC. In addition, data regarding the destination 
countries of victims who have been repatriated to their 
own (origin) countries can also shed light on trafficking 
flows. Analyses stemming from such data is presented 
separately. 

Information regarding the citizenships of victims was pro-
vided by 83 countries. It refers to a total of 27,052 victims 
of trafficking in persons detected between 2010 and 2012 
(or more recently) whose citizenship was reported. With 
regard to repatriation, information was provided by 35 
countries, covering 4,441 own citizens (relative to the 
reporting countries) who had been repatriated by other 
countries where they had been detected as victims of 
trafficking.

The broad geographical dispersion of victim detections is 
well known. Between 2010 and 2012, victims with 152 
citizenships were detected in 124 countries across the 
world. At least 510 trafficking flows

13

 were detected glob-

ally. This should be considered an absolute minimum as 
it is based on official data reported to UNODC which 
does not include the hidden cases of trafficking; the actual 
number of flows is likely to be significantly higher.

Victims can be trafficked either domestically (within the 
borders of one country

14

) or transnationally (crossing at 

13  Defining a ‘flow’ as one origin country and one destination country 

with at least five detected victims during the 2010-2012 reporting 
period. This also includes the case of domestic trafficking in which 
the country of origin and destination coincide.

14  Transnationality is not a requirement for establishing a traffick-

ing in persons offence. The Legislative Guides to the Trafficking in 
Persons Protocol (and the Convention against Transnational Organ-
ized Crime, which the Protocol supplements) state that ‘It must 
be strongly emphasized that, while offences must involve transna-
tionality and organized criminal groups for the Convention and its 
international cooperation provisions to apply, neither of these must 
be made elements of the domestic offence.’ (

UNODC, Legislative 

Guides for the implementation of the United Nations Convention against 
Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto

, Section A, Implementation 

of the Protocol, Article 18.) Domestic trafficking in persons cases are 
reported by most of the countries that submit data to UNODC. 

FIG. 20: 

Gender breakdown of detected  
victims of trafficking for sexual  
exploitation,

 2010-2012 (or more  

recent)

Source: UNODC elaboration on national data.

FIG. 21: 

Gender breakdown of detected  
victims of trafficking for ‘other’ 
forms of exploitation than forced 
labour,

sexual exploitation or organ 

removal, 

2010-2012 (or more recent)

Source: UNODC elaboration on national data.

97

%

3

%

73

%

27

%

GLOBAL REPOR

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TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 

2014

38

least one border between different countries). About 70 
per cent of the detected victims over the 2010-2012 period 
were trafficked cross-border. However, only 27 per cent 
of the total number of victims experienced transregional 
trafficking; that is, being trafficked from one region to 
another. While most detected cases of trafficking are trans-
national – meaning that they implicate more than one 
country and at least one border crossing - they are usually 
also of limited geographical reach (they often happen 
within the same subregion). 

As will be discussed later in the section on 

Traffickers, 

organized crime and the business of exploitation

, intrare-

gional trafficking – which is the most commonly detected 
type - often sees victims from relatively poorer countries 
within a given geographical area being exploited in rela-
tively richer ones. Similarly, although UNODC does not 
collect this information systematically, information from 
the court cases submitted by Member States suggests that 
domestic trafficking often involves victims from relatively 
poorer areas of the given country trafficked for exploita-
tion into more affluent areas; often the capital or another 
large city. 

Transregional trafficking comprises about 27 per cent of 
the total number of detected trafficking flows, and these 
flows provide the clearest illustration of the distinctions 
between origins and destinations. Victims of this type of 
trafficking are more often detected in the affluent areas of 
the Middle East, Western Europe and North America, 
although there are also some transregional trafficking flows 
with destinations in other areas. 

A key feature of transregional trafficking is the complexity 
of carrying it out. To traffic someone across continents, 
offenders generally need valid passports, visas or other 
permits to allow entry into the destination country, inter-
national transportation, local transportation in both the 
sending and receiving countries, lodging, supervision of 
the victim during the travel and a way to collect and con-
trol the victim upon arrival at destination, before the 
exploitation commences. While it may be possible for a 
single offender to traffic one or two victims alone, it is 
often necessary to involve others to varying extents. Set-
ting up a transregional trafficking operations also often 
require more skills and capital than starting a more geo-
graphically confined scheme.

In one court case, submitted by the United States of Amer-
ica, an Eastern European criminal group with at least five 
members (who were brothers) trafficked victims from their 
country into the United States and exploited them in 
forced labour. The traffickers evaded US visa requirements 
by having the victims travel to a neighbouring country on 
tourist visas and then arranging for them to be smuggled 
into the United States. Once in the United States, the 
victims had to be transported, lodged and controlled. 
Their passports were taken away and they were made to 
work as cleaners and janitors in various large commercial 
properties. While such a trafficking operation may gener-
ate considerable profits, it also requires a lot of skills, capi-
tal and labour to set up and run. Two of the group 
members have so far been convicted; one received a prison 
sentence of life plus 20 years, and the other, 20 years’ 
imprisonment.

Domestic trafficking, on the other hand, tends to require 
less preparation and organization. There is no need for 
travel documents and costly flight tickets, and transport 
– if necessary – can often be easily arranged by private car. 
Moreover, traffickers may not need to acquire special lodg-
ing for the victims as they may use their own residence or 
place of business. There were several instances of such 
arrangements in the court cases, for example, one case 
from El Salvador where a woman was convicted of traf-
ficking one girl for sexual exploitation. The girl was 
recruited with a promise of cashier work in the offender’s 
shop, but was instead locked up in the shop, threatened, 
starved and forced to drink alcohol in order for men to 
exploit her sexually against payment to the trafficker. In 
comparison to the transregional trafficking operation 
described above, the preparation and management in this 
case is minimal, but the profit potential also pales in com-

FIG. 22: 

Breakdown of trafficking flows  
by geographical reach,

 2010-2012  

(or more recent)

Source: UNODC elaboration on national data.

TRANSREGIONAL

26%

CROSS-BORDER WITHIN
SAME SUBREGION

37%

DOMESTIC
(WITHIN NATIONAL BORDERS)

34%

FROM NEARBY
SUBREGION

3%

Global overview

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39

Sciences Po - Atelier de cartographie, 2014

countries not covered

Share of detected victims from other subregions

data not available

subregions used in the report

0

2

20

60

100

MAP 4: 

Shares of detected victims who are trafficked into the given country from another  
subregion,

 2010-2012

Source: UNODC. 

Note: The boundaries shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Dashed lines represent undetermined 
boundaries. The dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of 
Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties. The final boundary between the Sudan and South Sudan has not yet been determined.

MAP 5: 

Shares of detected victims by subregional and transregional trafficking,

 2010-2012

Source: UNODC. 

Note: The boundaries shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Dashed lines represent undetermined 
boundaries. The dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of 
Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties. The final boundary between the Sudan and South Sudan has not yet been determined.

from outside 
the subregion

within

the subregion

or country

Sciences Po - Atelier de cartographie, 2014

countries not covered

subregions 
used in the report

North America, 

Central America

and the Caribbean

South

America

Western 

and Central Europe

Eastern Europe 

and Central Asia

North Africa and

the Middle East

Sub-Saharan

Africa

South

Asia

East Asia 

and the Pacific

39%

61%

1%

99%

4%

96%

3%

97%

6%

94%

42%

58%

3%

97%

68%

32%

GLOBAL REPOR

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TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 

2014

40

FIG. 23: 

Citizenships of foreign victims,

by subregion, shares of the total number of detected 

victims,

 2010-2012 

Source: UNODC elaboration on national data.

MAP 6: 

Main destination areas of transregional trafficking flows (in blue) and their significant 
origins,

 2010-2012

Source: UNODC.

Note: The boundaries shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Dashed lines represent undetermined 
boundaries. The dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of 
Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties. The final boundary between the Sudan and South Sudan has not yet been determined.

East 

Asians

South

Americans

Sub-Saharan

Africans

Eastern 

and Central

Europeans

South

Asians

Western 

and Central 

Europe

North America, 

Central America

and the Caribbean

The Middle

East

Sciences Po - Atelier de cartographie, 2014

countries not covered

The arrows show the flows that represent 5% and above 
of the total victims detected in destination subregions

Share of the nationalities of victims 
to total victims detected 
in destination subregions

Note: the values   below 1% are not shown.

in 
East 
Asia

in 
South 
Asia

in  
Sub-
Saharan 
Africa

in the
Middle 
East, 
North 
Africa

in 
North,
Central
America
and the
Caribbean

in 
South 
America

in 
Eastern
Europe, 
Central 
Asia

in 
Western,
Central 
Europe

East Asians

South Asians

SubSaharan Africans

North Africans and Middle Easterns

N&C Americans and Caribic

South Americans

Eastern Europens and Central Asians

Western and Central Europeans

6%

25%

33%

3%

1%

7%

18%

17%

10%

6%

3%

2%

4%

4%

6%

2%

2%

3%

5%

Global overview

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41

parison. The investments of traffickers into the trafficking 
process seem to be related to the expected profits as the 
traffickers aim at maximizing their return – as in any other 
business.

Looking specifically at transregional trafficking, the 
Middle East

15

 registers the highest share of inbound traf-

ficking from other regions. More than half of the victims 
detected in that area were trafficked from other regions. 
For Western and Central Europe and North and Central 
America and the Caribbean, this was true for about 40 
per cent of the detected victims. The origins of victims 
involved in transregional trafficking flows are also very 
diverse, with victims coming from countries in most other 
regions.

The other regions and subregions are very different and 
hardly report transregional trafficking. The shares of 
domestic and intraregional trafficking in these regions are 
above 95 per cent. While there are relatively small shares 
of victims trafficked in from other regions in some of these 
countries, the overwhelming majority of the victims 
detected in East Asia are citizens of other East Asian coun-
tries, in South Asia they are mainly South Asians, in Africa 
they are generally Africans and so forth. 

Considering the dispersion of victims from different areas, 
it is clear that some origin areas have a global dimension, 
where victims from that particular area are trafficked 
widely across the world. Other areas are more regional, 
and some predominantly domestic. East Asian victims 
belong in the first category. 

Victims from East Asia have been detected in all regions 
and subregions of the world; often in significant numbers. 
East Asians – particularly South-East Asians – have been 
detected in and/or repatriated from the most geographi-
cally dispersed set of destination countries of any geo-
graphical aggregation of victims. This is largely because 
East Asian victims have been detected in and/or repatri-
ated from the highest number of destination countries 
outside that region, particularly in North America, the 
Middle East and Western and Central Europe. 

Victims from the subregion of Eastern Europe and Cen-
tral Asia have also been detected in and/or repatriated 
from a large number of countries. The difference is that 
victims from Eastern Europe and Central Asia are mainly 

15   While the Middle East is part of the broader subregion of North 

Africa and the Middle East, the data from North Africa is extremely 
scarce. Therefore, the information on trafficking flows in this subre-
gion refers near exclusively to the Middle East.

detected within the broader region of Europe and Central 
Asia. Only a limited number of countries outside Europe 
report detecting victims who are citizens of countries in 
Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which means that traf-
ficking originating in this area is highly relevant and 
widely spread across Europe, whereas East Asian traffick-
ing is also transregional.

In addition to East Asia, other significant origin areas for 
transregional trafficking flows are South Asia (widely 
detected in the Middle East and North America), Sub-
Saharan Africa (detected in Western and Central Europe) 
and South America (detected in Western and Central 
Europe, as well as in North and Central America). As 
previously mentioned, in Eastern Europe and Central 
Asia, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, South America 
and Sub-Saharan Africa, victims from outside the region 
in question are rarely detected.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

EAST ASIA

SOUTH ASIA

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

SOUTH AMERICA

NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

EASTERN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA 

NORTH AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

WESTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE

Number of countries in other regions
Number of countries in the nearby subregion
Number of countries in the same subregion

SUBREGION OF ORIGIN 

Number of countries where these victims have been detected 

Number of countries in other regions
Number of countries in the nearby

y

su

su

u

bre

bre

re

gio

gio

gio

n

n

n

Number of countries in the 

e 

sam

m

e s

e s

e s

s

ubr

ubr

ubr

ubr

eg

egion

on

o

n

Number of countries where these victims have been detected 

FIG. 24: 

Diffusion of trafficking flows within 
and out of the subregion of origin 
(number of countries where citizens 
of countries in the given subregions 
were detected),

 2010-2012 (or more 

recent)

Source: UNODC elaboration on national data.