Published figure

38%

Of detected trafficking victims worldwide in 2022 were children — up 31% from 2019. Among girl victims, 60% were trafficked for sexual exploitation.

What this number is

UNODC counts people who were detected — identified by authorities — not everyone who is being exploited. The share of children among those detected victims rose. Among girls who were detected, most were trafficked for sexual exploitation.

Caveats

Detected is not the same as total. Better policing, better reporting, or a shift in who gets found can all move this percentage without the underlying crime moving the same way. Treat it as a signal from the official pipeline, not a census of every child.

What the 90% is for

This is why the program’s emphasis is children in sexual exploitation, without inventing a per-dollar rescue count. The 90% goes to work that shows up in detection, aftercare, and prosecution — the parts UNODC can actually see.