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From the pandemic to the climate crisis, disasters of the past five years have upended daily life, and a new report shows that in many countries the ensuing economic uncertainty has pushed millions into modern slavery, CNN reports.

An estimated 50 million people worldwide are believed to be victims of forced marriage and forced labor -- up 25% from the last estimate in 2016 -- according to a new report published Monday by the International Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free and the International Organisation for Migration.

Modern slavery refers to forced labor and forced marriage, when someone cannot refuse to comply or escape owing to threats, violence and deception. The researchers conducted a series of surveys across more than 180 countries to come up with their results.

According to the report, Covid-19, armed conflicts, and the climate crisis caused "unprecedented disruption" to employment and education, leading to an increase in poverty, unsafe migration and gender-based violence -- all risks for modern day slavery.

But ILO's director general, Guy Ryder, said "nothing can justify the persistence of this fundamental abuse of human rights."

"We know what needs to be done, and we know it can be done. Effective national policies and regulation are fundamental. But governments cannot do this alone," he said.

The report says better laws, stronger legal protections and greater support for women, girls and vulnerable people could significantly reduce or one day end modern slavery.

An estimated 22 million people are living in a marriage they had been forced into, the report said -- a 43% increase from 2016 figures.

More than two thirds of those forced to marry are women and girls, according to the report, putting them at greater risk of sexual exploitation and violence.

More people in Asia and the Pacific were in forced marriages, but when population size was taken to account, researchers found that forced marriage was more prevalent in Arab states.

Covid-19 has "exacerbated the underlying drivers of all forms of modern day slavery, including forced marriage," the report said.