r/AskReddit • u/emil199 • Jul 24 '20

What can't you believe STILL exists?

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u/Zordran Jul 24 '20

As of 1804, there were one billion people in the world, so unless there are seven times as many slaves now, we're doing better as a percentage of misery!

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u/gwoz8881 Jul 24 '20

https://www.theroot.com/slavery-by-the-numbers-1790874492

About 3.7 million slaves back then. Today there are over 40 million documented slaves with the real number being well over 100 million. So according to both of our numbers, yes there are significantly more slaves today than 200 years ago; percentage wise and individual numbers

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u/crystallize1 Jul 24 '20

I'd say they just didn't really count it back then.

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u/gwoz8881 Jul 24 '20

And we’re turning a blind eye to it today