COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LABOR TRAFFICKING ACROSS GLOBAL REGIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY (2000-2026)

Labor trafficking represents one of the most pressing human rights challenges of the 21st century, with the International Labour Organization estimating 27.6 million people trapped in forced labor globally. This doctoral dissertation presents a comparative analysis of labor trafficking across six global regions—Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Eastern Europe—examining the historical, geographical, sociocultural, and economic conditions that facilitate contemporary slavery. Employing a mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design, the study analyzed data from 49 countries using publicly available datasets including the Global Slavery Index, ILO Global Estimates, UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, and World Bank indicators. Quantitative analysis incorporated descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression, complemented by qualitative document analysis of policy reports and regional assessments. Key findings revealed significant regional variation in trafficking prevalence, with Southeast Asia (19.25 per 100,000) and Sub-Saharan Africa (18.94 per 100,000) exhibiting the highest rates. A strong negative correlation emerged between government response and trafficking prevalence (r = -.467, p < .001), while regression analysis demonstrated that governance and vulnerability factors explain 54.4% of prevalence variance. Critically, the study documented a 134% increase in global forced labor from 2000 to 2024 and found that 80% of trafficking occurs domestically rather than across international borders. These findings challenge dominant narratives emphasizing transnational trafficking and support theoretical frameworks integrating historical institutionalism, global political economy, and intersectionality. The dissertation contributes empirically grounded recommendations for policymakers, international organizations, and civil society, emphasizing governance capacity building, domestic labor market regulation, and supply chain accountability as priority interventions.