A study by charities Ecpat UK and Missing People found that between September 2014 to September 2015, 28 per cent of trafficked children in care (167 children) and 13 per cent of unaccompanied children in care (593 children) went missing at least once.
Of these, 207 children (40 per cent of those who went missing) are yet to be found.
The authors of the report said there is a "worrying lack of consistency" in the way local authorities identify and record risk of trafficking and exploitation.
The report adds that data collection flaws, alongside the high numbers of trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing, suggest that the UK's wider child protection response is inadequate, leaving children vulnerable to re-trafficking and abuse.
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