This is a list of countries and some dependent territories and subnational areas by incarceration rate.[1]

Prison population rates from World Prison Brief. See date on map.

Incarceration rates and counts

The World Prison Brief (WPB) may or may not incorporate juvenile incarceration numbers into the totals for each country, dependent territory, or subnational area. The data below is the latest available at WPB at the time the data was copied here. See the individual WPB country and subnational area pages for more info on data, dates, juvenile numbers, and much more.[1]

* indicates "Incarceration in LOCATION" or "Crime in LOCATION" links.
Note: This table fully updated July 26, 2023. Some individual countries since then.
Note: For the UK as a whole see #United Kingdom in notes section.
Note: See N/A definition. "Not available" in this case.

Incarceration rates and counts. From World Prison Brief
Location Rates per 100,000[2] Counts[3]
 
 Afghanistan * 36 14,000
 Albania * 174 4,807
 Algeria 217 94,749
 American Samoa 538 301
 Andorra 64 51
 Angola 79 24,966
 Anguilla 240 36
 Antigua and Barbuda 237 233
 Argentina * 249 114,074
 Armenia * 72 2,128
 Aruba 238 254
 Australia * [Note] 158 41,155
 Austria * 97 8,798
 Azerbaijan * 219 22,334
 Bahamas 409 1,617
 Bahrain * 234 3,485
 Bangladesh * 46 81,156
 Barbados 258 743
 Belarus 345 32,556
 Belgium * 97 11,326
 Belize * 289 1,199
 Benin * 111 14,190
 Bermuda 200 124
 Bhutan * 145 1,119
 Bolivia * 175 20,864
 Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 83 1,813
 Republika Srpska 46 554
 Botswana 161 3,971
 Brazil * 389 835,643
 Brunei 186 841
 Bulgaria * 93 6,386
 Burkina Faso 38 8,369
 Burundi 85 12,188
 Cambodia * 219 38,050
 Cameroon 116 32,003
 Canada * 85 32,261
 Cape Verde * 296 1,549
 Cayman Islands 266 189
 Central African Republic 40 1,990
 Chad 59 8,700
 Chile * 264 49,845
 China * [Note] 119 1,690,000
 Colombia * 196 100,639
 Comoros 43 387
 Congo 27 1,388
 Cook Islands 224 47
 Costa Rica * 301 15,516
 Ivory Coast * 92 25,121
 Croatia 102 3,955
 Cuba * [Note] 794 90,000
 Curaçao 261 429
 Cyprus 103 947
 Czech Republic * 187 19,747
 DR Congo * 24 22,820
 Denmark * 72 4,248
 Djibouti 71 0662 c. 662
 Dominica 316 237
 Dominican Republic * 222 25,383
 Ecuador * 167 30,540
 Egypt * 116 120,000
 El Salvador * 1 086 71,000
 England and Wales * [Note] 143 85,851
 Equatorial Guinea 63 500
 Eritrea [Note] N/A N/A
 Estonia * 150 1,994
 Eswatini 243 3,405
 Ethiopia * 99 110,000
 Faroe Islands 23 12
 Fiji 256 2,379
 Finland * 51 2,827
 France * 107 73,080
 French Guiana 280 907
 French Polynesia 189 539
 Gabon 228 5,226
 Gambia 22 543
 Georgia 265 9,626
 Germany * 67 56,557
 Ghana * 47 15,185
 Gibraltar * 273 92
 Greece * 103 10,723
 Greenland * 241 136
 Grenada 335 379
 Guadeloupe * 190 851
 Guam 408 700
 Guatemala * 127 24,031
 Guernsey 112 74
 Guinea 34 4,375
 Guinea-Bissau 31 596
 Guyana * 271 2,156
 Haiti * 98 11,253
 Honduras * 191 19,619
 Hong Kong * 106 7,751
 Hungary * 194 18,800
 Iceland 35 133
 India * 40 554,034
 Indonesia * 99 275,518
 Iran * 228 189,000
 Iraq 179 73,715
 Ireland 91 4,702
 Isle of Man 103 90
 Israel * 168 14,961
 Italy * 97 57,230
 Jamaica * 125 3,559
 Japan * 36 45,714
 Jersey 135 146
 Jordan 185 19,140
 Kazakhstan * 184 35,228
 Kenya * 107 58,887
 Kiribati 113 129
 Kosovo * 93 1,642
 Kuwait * 103 4,500
 Kyrgyzstan 117 7,633
 Laos * 166 11,885
 Latvia * 169 3,169
 Lebanon 143 9,500
 Lesotho * 104 2,216
 Liberia * 55 3,000
 Libya 176 12,300
 Liechtenstein 31 12
 Lithuania 177 4,955
 Luxembourg 106 685
 Macau * 197 1,323
 Madagascar 98 28,830
 Malawi 76 16,366
 Malaysia * 217 72,437
 Maldives * 314 1,700
 Mali 40 8,670
 Malta 113 589
 Marshall Islands 66 35
 Martinique 254 976
 Mauritania * 57 2,826
 Mauritius * 197 2,567
 Mayotte 205 600
 Mexico * 175 232,230
 Micronesia 127 132
 Moldova * 236 6,084
 Monaco 36 14
 Mongolia 183 5,832
 Montenegro * 153 948
 Morocco 260 97,204
 Mozambique 62 20,517
 Myanmar * 183 100,324
 Namibia * 318 8,900
 Nauru * 140 14
 Nepal * 83 25,400
 Netherlands 65 11,447
 New Caledonia 195 572
 New Zealand * 162 8,376
 Nicaragua 332 20,918
 Niger 39 9,187
 Nigeria * 35 77,684
 North Korea * [Note] N/A N/A
 North Macedonia 128 2,362
 Northern Ireland * [Note] 99 1,900
 Northern Mariana Islands 273 153
 Norway * 55 2,975
 Oman * 46 1,960
 Pakistan * 38 87,712
 Palau 428 77
 Panama * 499 22,239
 Papua New Guinea * 58 5,087
 Paraguay * 234 17,065
 Peru * 264 90,516
 Philippines * 162 180,826
 Poland * 208 78,102
 Portugal * 122 12,623
 Puerto Rico * 221 7,176
 Qatar * 58 1,644
 South Korea * 103 52,940
 Réunion 137 1,249
 Romania * 122 23,079
 Russia * 300 433,006
 Rwanda 621 84,710
 Samoa 179 358
 San Marino 26 9
 São Tomé and Príncipe 115 260
 Saudi Arabia * 207 68,056 c. 68,056
 Scotland * [Note] 141 7,775
 Senegal 67 12,430
 Serbia * 155 10,557
 Seychelles 360 362
 Sierra Leone 57 4,801
 Singapore * 156 9,536
 Sint Maarten 196 87
 Slovakia * 187 10,164
 Slovenia * 70 1,490
 Solomon Islands 79 500
 Somalia [Note] N/A N/A
 South Africa * 250 151,755
 South Sudan 58 8,400
 Spain * 116 55,095
 Sri Lanka * 128 27,634
 Saint Kitts and Nevis * 296 160
 Saint Lucia * 278 514
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 347 385
 Sudan * 52 21,000
 Suriname * 185 1,000
 Sweden * 74 7,713
 Switzerland * 73 6,445
 Syria 60 10,599
 Taiwan * 234 54,946
 Tajikistan 141 14,000
 Tanzania 50 32,671
 Thailand * 377 262,319
 East Timor 55 763
 Togo 59 4,990
 Tonga * 166 176
 Trinidad and Tobago * 276 3,802
 Tunisia 196 23,484
 Turkey * 392 336,315
 Turkmenistan 576 35,000
 Tuvalu * 110 11
 Uganda 151 75,205
 Ukraine * 123 48,038
 United Arab Emirates * 104 9,826
 United States * [Note] 531 1,767,200
 Uruguay 408 14,347
 Uzbekistan 85 29,000
 Vanuatu 65 195
 Venezuela * 199 67,200
 Vietnam * 130 125,697
 British Virgin Islands 368 114
 U.S. Virgin Islands 345 359
 Yemen * 35 9,719
 Zambia 118 24,000
 Zimbabwe * 121 22,114

Territories or other subnational areas

To keep the above chart more compact the country names were stripped from the territories or other subnational areas.[4] Here is that info as provided by World Prison Brief:

Territory or other subnational area.  
 American Samoa (USA)
 Anguilla (United Kingdom)
 Aruba (Netherlands)
 Bermuda (United Kingdom)
 Bosnia and Herzegovina: Federation
 Bosnia and Herzegovina: Republika Srpska
 Cayman Islands (United Kingdom)
 Cook Islands (New Zealand)
 Curaçao (Netherlands)
 Faeroe Islands (Denmark)
 French Guiana/Guyane (France)
 French Polynesia (France)
 Gibraltar (United Kingdom)
 Greenland (Denmark)
 Guadeloupe (France)
 Guam (USA)
 Guernsey (United Kingdom)
 Hong Kong (China)
 Jersey (United Kingdom)
 Macau (China)
 Martinique (France)
 Mayotte (France)
 New Caledonia (France)
 Northern Mariana Islands (USA)
 Puerto Rico (USA)
 Reunion (France)
 Sint Maarten (Netherlands)
 United Kingdom: England & Wales
 United Kingdom: Northern Ireland
 United Kingdom: Scotland
 United States of America
 Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
 Virgin Islands (USA)

Notes

Australia

In addition to the numbers referenced in the main table,[5] see info about additional detainees, and alleged detainees, at Immigration detention in Australia and Punishment in Australia.

China

In addition to the numbers referenced in the main table,[6] see info about additional detainees, and alleged detainees, at Re-education through labor, Laogai, and Xinjiang internment camps.

Cuba

In addition to the numbers referenced in the main table,[7] see info about additional detainees, and alleged detainees, at Human rights in Cuba. Also at Law enforcement in Cuba.

Eritrea

World Prison Brief has limited info on Eritrea.[8]

North Korea

World Prison Brief has limited info on North Korea.[9] See info about detainees, and alleged detainees, at Prisons in North Korea.

Somalia

World Prison Brief has limited info on Somalia.[10]

United Kingdom

Main article: United Kingdom prison population
See also #Territories or other subnational areas higher up.

The data source (World Prison Brief) (WPB) does not list an incarceration rate for the United Kingdom as a whole, with its territories, and other subnational areas, etc.. In the main table see England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, British Virgin Islands. WPB has pages for each of them.[11] A rate for the United Kingdom as a whole can be calculated by adding up their prison populations, and then dividing by their combined population.

United States

Juvenile detention in the US[12]
Year Male Female Total
1997 90,771 14,284 105,055
1999 92,985 14,508 107,493
2001 89,115 15,104 104,219
2003 81,975 14,556 96,531
2006 78,998 13,723 92,721
2007 75,017 11,797 86,814
2010 61,359 9,434 70,793
2011 53,079 8,344 61,423
2013 46,421 7,727 54,148
2015 40,750 7,293 48,043
2017 36,982 6,598 43,580
2019 31,064 5,415 36,479
Main article: United States incarceration rate

The incarceration rate (per 100,000 population of all ages) is for inmates held in adult facilities in the United States. It does not include inmates in the custody of correctional facilities operated by departments of corrections in U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and U.S. commonwealths (Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico).[13][14]

In addition, there were 36,479 juveniles in juvenile detention in 2019.[12] For more juvenile detention information and numbers, see Youth incarceration in the United States.

The incarceration rate in the U.S. varies greatly by U.S. state. See: List of U.S. states and territories by incarceration and correctional supervision rate. That article also lists male and female incarceration rates by state. See also: Incarceration of women in the United States.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Highest to Lowest. World Prison Brief (WPB). Use dropdown menu to choose lists of countries by region, or the whole world. Use menu to select highest-to-lowest lists of prison population totals, prison population rates, percentage of pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners, percentage of female prisoners, percentage of foreign prisoners, and occupancy rate. Column headings in WPB tables can be clicked to reorder columns lowest to highest, or alphabetically. For detailed information for each country click on any country name in lists. The individual country pages also give the date of the data. See also the WPB main data page and click on the map links and/or the sidebar links to get to the region and country desired. Please update the tables here only from this WPB source.
  2. ^ Highest to Lowest - Prison Population Rate. From World Prison Brief
  3. ^ Highest to Lowest - Prison Population Total. From: World Prison Brief.
  4. ^ {{Flagg}}. This flag template removes the names of the countries behind territories, subnational areas, etc.. Other flag templates (such as {{flaglist}}) do not do that. But that template can not create specialized country links. See Help:Table.
  5. ^ Australia. By World Prison Brief.
  6. ^ China. By World Prison Brief.
  7. ^ Cuba. By World Prison Brief.
  8. ^ Eritrea. World Prison Brief.
  9. ^ North Korea. By World Prison Brief.
  10. ^ Somalia. World Prison Brief.
  11. ^ Search of World Prison Brief website for "United Kingdom". It pulls up the pages for England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Cayman Islands, Jersey, Virgin Islands, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Gibraltar, etc.. World Prison Brief.
  12. ^ a b Sickmund, M., Sladky, T.J., Kang, W., & Puzzanchera, C.. "Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Click "National Crosstabs" at the top, and then choose the census years. Click "Show table" to get the total number of juvenile inmates for those years. Or go here for all years. And here.
  13. ^ United States of America. By World Prison Brief.
  14. ^ Correctional Populations in the United States, 2016 Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine (NCJ 251211). Published April 2018 by U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). By Danielle Kaeble and Mary Cowhig, BJS statisticians. See PDF Archived 2018-06-16 at the Wayback Machine. Appendix table 1 on page 11 has rates and counts by state. See page 1 "highlights" section for the "1 in ..." numbers. See table 4 on page 4 for a timeline of nationwide incarceration rates. See appendix table 3 on page 13, for "Persons held in custody in state or federal prisons or in local jails, 2000, 2010, and 2015–2016". That table also has incarceration rates. See appendix table 2 on page 12 for the number or persons incarcerated in territorial prisons, military facilities, and jails in Indian country.

External links