In 2023, the European Union recorded 10,793 victims of human trafficking, marking a 6.9% increase from the previous year and the highest figure since 2008, according to Eurostat. This means 24 registered victims per one million inhabitants.
Although sexual exploitation remained the most common form of trafficking at 43.8%, the EU saw a notable rise in victims trafficked for forced labour or services. Between 2008 and 2018, such cases ranged from 14% to 21%, but from 2019 onward, they consistently made up between 28% and 41% of cases. Other exploitative purposes—including organ removal, benefit fraud, forced begging, and criminal activities—accounted for 20.2% of cases in 2023.
Nearly two-thirds of the victims were women or girls, with their share further increasing from 2022. Meanwhile, men still made up the vast majority of traffickers. In 2023, only 24% of suspects and 23% of convicted traffickers were women.
Most victims came from non-EU countries (64.1%), though 28% were nationals of the reporting country. Countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland primarily registered domestic victims, whereas more than 80% of victims in Austria, Belgium, Spain, and others came from outside the EU.
Luxembourg, Greece, the Netherlands, Austria, and Sweden had the highest rates of registered victims. Eurostat noted that higher numbers may reflect stronger efforts to identify victims, such as in Luxembourg, where proactive labour inspections played a role.
The number of suspected traffickers reached 8,471 in 2023, a 5% increase, while convictions rose by 10.1%. Fifteen out of 26 EU countries saw a rise in convictions, underscoring growing efforts to combat human trafficking across the bloc.
