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Incarceration Rates by Country 2024
Incarceration is the state of being confined in prison, typically as punishment for a crime. Every country in the world has a prison system of some sort, though the exact nature of that system—as well as the number of prisoners incarcerated within it—varies tremendously from country to country. The United States leads the world in total number of people incarcerated, with more than 2 million prisoners nationwide (per data released in October 2021 by World Prison Brief). This number is equivalent to roughly 25% of the world's total prison population and leads to an incarceration rate of 629 people per 100,000—the highest rate in the world. The prison populations in each U.S. state vary from one to the next, with the highest rates in Louisiana and Oklahoma. Overall, the incarceration rate in the U.S. has skyrocketed in the past decade—the prison population was a mere 200,000 in 1972, less than a tenth of today's total. However, the current rate is the lowest it has been in 20 years.
Top 10 Countries with the most people in prison
Top 10 Countries with the highest rate of incarceration
Country | Incarceration Rate |
|---|---|
| El Salvador | 1,086 |
| Cuba | 794 |
| Rwanda | 637 |
| Turkmenistan | 576 |
| American Samoa | 538 |
| United States | 531 |
| Panama | 499 |
| Guam | 475 |
| Palau | 428 |
| Uruguay | 424 |
Challenges raised by high incarceration rates
Mass incarceration in the United States is a civil rights issue. Organizations such as the Prison Policy Initiative argue that incarceration dehumanizes poor people and minorities, damages already marginalized communities, and often jails people for small-scale offenses such as marijuana possession in countries where weed is illegal. Additionally, evidence exists that a high incarceration rate does not actually increase public safety—a stance often validated by data on crime rate per country, murder rates, rape statistics, and gun violence per country. Nor, for that matter, does capital punishment, commonly known as the death penalty.
Mass incarceration can also lead to several logistical issues including prison overcrowding, which increases health risks and decreases the psychological well-being of those inside. Around the world, many countries have jail occupancy rates that exceed 100% of their prison system's capacity. Kenya's jail occupancy level is currently 284%. Additionally, the massive number of prisons and prisoners places a significant strain on state budgets. Prison costs include adequate security, food, recreational and education opportunities, infrastructure maintenance, utility costs for the facilities, healthcare for the prisoners, and (in better prisons) programs to train and rehabilitate inmates so they are less likely to return to prison in the future. State prison spending varies greatly and can be as high as $69,355 per inmate per year (the average cost of an inmate in New York).
- Data shown are the most recent available for each country, but are not necessarily from the same date.
Country | Incarceration Rate (per 100k population) | Total Incarcerated | % Female | % Male |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Salvador | 1,086 | 71,000 | 7.4% | 92.6% |
| Cuba | 794 | 90,000 | - | 100% |
| Rwanda | 637 | 89,034 | 5.4% | 94.6% |
| Turkmenistan | 576 | 35,000 | 6.5% | 93.5% |
| American Samoa | 538 | 301 | 9.6% | 90.4% |
| United States | 531 | 1,767,200 | 8.8% | 91.2% |
| Panama | 499 | 22,239 | 5.1% | 94.9% |
| Guam | 475 | 820 | 3.9% | 96.1% |
| Palau | 428 | 77 | 3.9% | 96.1% |
| Uruguay | 424 | 14,965 | 7.4% | 92.6% |
| Seychelles | 413 | 417 | 6.5% | 93.5% |
| Bahamas | 409 | 1,617 | 3.1% | 96.9% |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 400 | 233 | 5.5% | 94.5% |
| Brazil | 390 | 839,672 | 5.4% | 94.6% |
| Thailand | 377 | 262,319 | 11.6% | 88.4% |
| British Virgin Islands | 368 | 114 | 4.5% | 95.5% |
| Cape Verde | 366 | 2,100 | 2.9% | 97.1% |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 353 | 392 | 2.8% | 97.2% |
| Dominica | 348 | 261 | 1.1% | 98.9% |
| Belarus | 345 | 32,556 | 10.8% | 89.2% |
| United States Virgin Islands | 345 | 359 | 5.2% | 94.8% |
| Turkey | 340 | 341,497 | 4.1% | 95.9% |
| Grenada | 335 | 379 | 1.3% | 98.7% |
| Nicaragua | 332 | 20,918 | 5.4% | 94.6% |
| Namibia | 318 | 8,900 | 2.9% | 97.1% |
| Maldives | 314 | 1,700 | 4.3% | 95.7% |
| French Guiana | 305 | 1,001 | 8.4% | 91.6% |
| Costa Rica | 301 | 15,700 | 3.2% | 96.8% |
| Russia | 300 | 433,006 | 8.9% | 91.1% |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 296 | 160 | 3.6% | 96.4% |
| Belize | 289 | 1,199 | 3% | 97% |
| Chile | 281 | 53,200 | 7.8% | 92.2% |
| Saint Lucia | 278 | 514 | 2.7% | 97.3% |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 276 | 3,802 | 2.9% | 97.1% |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 273 | 153 | 5.8% | 94.2% |
| Gibraltar | 273 | 92 | 7.1% | 92.9% |
| Peru | 272 | 93,985 | 5.2% | 94.8% |
| Guyana | 271 | 2,156 | 2.8% | 97.2% |
| Morocco | 270 | 100,004 | 2.4% | 97.6% |
| Libya | 269 | 19,103 | 1.1% | 98.9% |
| Cayman Islands | 266 | 189 | 7.2% | 92.8% |
| Martinique | 261 | 1,003 | 3.1% | 96.9% |
| Curacao | 261 | 429 | 2.6% | 97.4% |
| South Africa | 258 | 157,056 | 3% | 97% |
| Barbados | 258 | 743 | 3.4% | 96.6% |
| Georgia | 256 | 9,688 | 3.5% | 96.5% |
| Fiji | 256 | 2,379 | 2.5% | 97.5% |
| Argentina | 254 | 117,810 | 4.1% | 95.9% |
| Azerbaijan | 244 | 24,698 | 2.8% | 97.2% |
| Eswatini | 243 | 3,405 | 2.9% | 97.1% |
| Greenland | 241 | 136 | 13.8% | 86.2% |
| Anguilla | 240 | 36 | - | 100% |
| Taiwan | 239 | 56,202 | 8.9% | 91.1% |
| Aruba | 238 | 254 | 8.4% | 91.6% |
| Moldova | 236 | 6,084 | 5.4% | 94.6% |
| Bahrain | 234 | 3,485 | 4.7% | 95.3% |
| Paraguay | 233 | 17,006 | 5.2% | 94.8% |
| Iran | 228 | 189,000 | 3.1% | 96.9% |
| Gabon | 228 | 5,226 | 2.2% | 97.8% |
| Cook Islands | 224 | 47 | 8.3% | 91.7% |
| Dominican Republic | 223 | 25,461 | 2.5% | 97.5% |
| Puerto Rico | 221 | 7,176 | 3.7% | 96.3% |
| Cambodia | 219 | 38,050 | 6.6% | 93.4% |
| Algeria | 217 | 94,749 | 1.5% | 98.5% |
| Malaysia | 217 | 72,437 | 5.9% | 94.1% |
| Israel | 217 | 19,756 | 1% | 99% |
| Saudi Arabia | 207 | 68,056 | 1.9% | 98.1% |
| Bolivia | 207 | 25,000 | 6.1% | 93.9% |
| Hungary | 203 | 19,499 | 7.5% | 92.5% |
| New Caledonia | 201 | 590 | 1.3% | 98.7% |
| Bermuda | 200 | 124 | 2.9% | 97.1% |
| Venezuela | 199 | 67,200 | 7.8% | 92.2% |
| Colombia | 198 | 101,622 | 6.5% | 93.5% |
| Poland | 197 | 74,967 | 5% | 95% |
| Mauritius | 197 | 2,522 | 6.4% | 93.6% |
| Macau | 197 | 1,339 | 15.4% | 84.6% |
| Guadeloupe | 197 | 881 | 2.2% | 97.8% |
| Tunisia | 196 | 23,484 | 3.3% | 96.7% |
| Sint Maarten | 196 | 87 | 8% | 92% |
| Honduras | 191 | 19,619 | 5.5% | 94.5% |
| Albania | 189 | 5,169 | 1.2% | 98.8% |
| Brunei | 186 | 841 | 11.9% | 88.1% |
| Mayotte | 186 | 549 | 1.3% | 98.7% |
| Jordan | 185 | 19,140 | 2.2% | 97.8% |
| Suriname | 185 | 1,000 | 2.8% | 97.2% |
| Kazakhstan | 184 | 35,228 | 7% | 93% |
| Myanmar | 183 | 100,324 | 12.3% | 87.7% |
| Mongolia | 183 | 5,832 | 4.5% | 95.5% |
| Iraq | 179 | 73,715 | 2.6% | 97.4% |
| Czech Republic | 179 | 19,569 | 8.8% | 91.2% |
| Slovakia | 179 | 9,854 | 7.7% | 92.3% |
| Samoa | 179 | 358 | 5.3% | 94.7% |
| French Polynesia | 178 | 509 | 2.6% | 97.4% |
| Lithuania | 177 | 4,955 | 4.1% | 95.9% |
| Mexico | 174 | 231,906 | 5.7% | 94.3% |
| New Zealand | 173 | 8,893 | 6.2% | 93.8% |
| Latvia | 172 | 3,229 | 8.4% | 91.6% |
| Ecuador | 167 | 30,804 | 5.5% | 94.5% |
| Laos | 166 | 11,885 | 13.7% | 86.3% |
| Montenegro | 166 | 1,026 | 3.2% | 96.8% |
| Tonga | 166 | 176 | 4.5% | 95.5% |
| Philippines | 162 | 180,826 | 9.8% | 90.2% |
| Serbia | 162 | 10,787 | 4.1% | 95.9% |
| Botswana | 161 | 3,971 | 5% | 95% |
| Australia | 158 | 41,155 | 7.3% | 92.7% |
| Singapore | 156 | 9,536 | 10.2% | 89.8% |
| Uganda | 150 | 75,764 | 4.7% | 95.3% |
| Sri Lanka | 149 | 32,402 | 4.3% | 95.7% |
| Bhutan | 145 | 1,119 | 4.3% | 95.7% |
| Lebanon | 143 | 9,500 | 2.9% | 97.1% |
| Tajikistan | 141 | 14,000 | 2.4% | 97.6% |
| Nauru | 140 | 14 | 7.1% | 92.9% |
| Zimbabwe | 138 | 21,619 | 2.1% | 97.9% |
| North Macedonia | 138 | 2,525 | 3.1% | 96.9% |
| Reunion | 137 | 1,249 | 2.3% | 97.7% |
| Vietnam | 135 | 133,986 | 12.1% | 87.9% |
| Jersey | 135 | 146 | 6.8% | 93.2% |
| Estonia | 132 | 1,848 | 4.8% | 95.2% |
| Micronesia | 127 | 132 | - | 100% |
| Zambia | 125 | 24,000 | 2.7% | 97.3% |
| Jamaica | 125 | 3,559 | 4% | 96% |
| Guernsey | 125 | 83 | 6% | 94% |
| Romania | 124 | 23,608 | 4.5% | 95.5% |
| Ukraine | 123 | 48,038 | 3.9% | 96.1% |
| Guatemala | 123 | 23,361 | 12.1% | 87.9% |
| China | 119 | 1,690,000 | 8.6% | 91.4% |
| Portugal | 117 | 12,257 | 7.4% | 92.6% |
| Kyrgyzstan | 117 | 7,633 | 2.9% | 97.1% |
| Egypt | 116 | 120,000 | 3.7% | 96.3% |
| Cameroon | 116 | 32,003 | 2.6% | 97.4% |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 115 | 260 | 4% | 96% |
| Spain | 113 | 54,197 | 7.1% | 92.9% |
| Malta | 113 | 589 | 8.6% | 91.4% |
| Kiribati | 113 | 129 | 0.8% | 99.2% |
| Benin | 111 | 14,190 | 3.3% | 96.7% |
| Tuvalu | 110 | 11 | - | 100% |
| France | 109 | 74,342 | 4.4% | 95.6% |
| Kenya | 107 | 58,887 | 5.1% | 94.9% |
| Luxembourg | 107 | 705 | 5.4% | 94.6% |
| Hong Kong | 106 | 7,751 | 19.7% | 80.3% |
| Croatia | 106 | 4,073 | 5.9% | 94.1% |
| United Arab Emirates | 104 | 9,826 | 11.7% | 88.3% |
| Lesotho | 104 | 2,216 | 2.9% | 97.1% |
| Italy | 103 | 59,715 | 4.2% | 95.8% |
| South Korea | 103 | 52,940 | 8.1% | 91.9% |
| Kuwait | 103 | 4,500 | 5.8% | 94.2% |
| Cyprus | 103 | 947 | 9.5% | 90.5% |
| Isle of Man | 103 | 90 | 4.4% | 95.6% |
| Burundi | 102 | 13,518 | 7.6% | 92.4% |
| Greece | 101 | 10,526 | 4.9% | 95.1% |
| Bulgaria | 101 | 6,501 | 3.7% | 96.3% |
| Ethiopia | 99 | 110,000 | 4.2% | 95.8% |
| Madagascar | 98 | 28,830 | 5.5% | 94.5% |
| Haiti | 98 | 11,253 | 3.6% | 96.4% |
| Belgium | 97 | 11,326 | 4.5% | 95.5% |
| Austria | 96 | 8,792 | 6.8% | 93.2% |
| Ivory Coast | 95 | 25,121 | 2.5% | 97.5% |
| Indonesia | 94 | 266,512 | 4.7% | 95.3% |
| Nepal | 90 | 27,550 | 5.4% | 94.6% |
| Canada | 88 | 33,833 | 7% | 93% |
| Ireland | 88 | 4,742 | 4.9% | 95.1% |
| Uzbekistan | 85 | 29,000 | - | 100% |
| Slovenia | 84 | 1,648 | 5.4% | 94.6% |
| Sweden | 82 | 8,635 | 5.9% | 94.1% |
| Angola | 79 | 24,966 | 2.5% | 97.5% |
| Armenia | 79 | 2,357 | 2.9% | 97.1% |
| Solomon Islands | 79 | 500 | 1.7% | 98.3% |
| Malawi | 76 | 16,366 | 1.1% | 98.9% |
| Switzerland | 73 | 6,445 | 5.9% | 94.1% |
| Andorra | 73 | 60 | 11.8% | 88.2% |
| Djibouti | 71 | 662 | 5% | 95% |
| Senegal | 69 | 13,185 | 2.6% | 97.4% |
| Denmark | 69 | 4,106 | 4.8% | 95.2% |
| Monaco | 69 | 27 | 14.3% | 85.7% |
| Germany | 67 | 56,325 | 5.6% | 94.4% |
| Mozambique | 67 | 23,098 | 3% | 97% |
| Marshall Islands | 66 | 35 | - | 100% |
| Netherlands | 65 | 11,447 | 4.6% | 95.4% |
| Vanuatu | 65 | 195 | 6.7% | 93.3% |
| Equatorial Guinea | 63 | 500 | 5% | 95% |
| Syria | 60 | 10,599 | 7.4% | 92.6% |
| Chad | 59 | 8,700 | 2.4% | 97.6% |
| Togo | 59 | 4,990 | 2.6% | 97.4% |
| South Sudan | 58 | 8,400 | 10.9% | 89.1% |
| Qatar | 58 | 1,644 | 4.6% | 95.4% |
| Sierra Leone | 57 | 4,801 | 1.5% | 98.5% |
| Mauritania | 57 | 2,826 | 2% | 98% |
| Liberia | 55 | 3,000 | 2.8% | 97.2% |
| Timor Leste | 55 | 763 | 4.1% | 95.9% |
| Papua New Guinea | 54 | 5,000 | 5% | 95% |
| Sudan | 52 | 21,000 | 1.7% | 98.3% |
| Norway | 52 | 3,000 | 5.1% | 94.9% |
| Finland | 51 | 2,839 | 7.1% | 92.9% |
| Bangladesh | 50 | 84,851 | 3.9% | 96.1% |
| Tanzania | 50 | 32,671 | 3.4% | 96.6% |
| DR Congo | 46 | 22,820 | 2.3% | 97.7% |
| Oman | 46 | 1,960 | 4.5% | 95.5% |
| Comoros | 46 | 422 | 1.6% | 98.4% |
| Afghanistan | 45 | 14,000 | 4.2% | 95.8% |
| Ghana | 45 | 14,918 | 1.2% | 98.8% |
| India | 41 | 573,220 | 4.1% | 95.9% |
| Niger | 40 | 10,179 | 3.1% | 96.9% |
| Mali | 40 | 8,670 | 3% | 97% |
| Central African Republic | 40 | 1,990 | 2.3% | 97.7% |
| Burkina Faso | 39 | 8,800 | 1.8% | 98.2% |
| Pakistan | 38 | 87,712 | 1.6% | 98.4% |
| Japan | 36 | 45,714 | 8.6% | 91.4% |
| Iceland | 36 | 140 | 8.3% | 91.7% |
| Yemen | 35 | 9,719 | 1.3% | 98.7% |
| Nigeria | 34 | 77,350 | 2.2% | 97.8% |
| Guinea | 34 | 4,375 | 3% | 97% |
| Guinea Bissau | 31 | 596 | 2.6% | 97.4% |
| Republic of the Congo | 27 | 1,388 | 3.7% | 96.3% |
| Faroe Islands | 23 | 12 | - | 100% |
| Gambia | 22 | 543 | 2.6% | 97.4% |
| Liechtenstein | 15 | 6 | - | 100% |
| San Marino | 9 | 3 | 11.1% | 88.9% |
| United Kingdom | 96,977 | - | 100% | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2,337 | - | 100% |
What country has the highest rate of incarceration?
With 1,767,200 people incarcerated, United States currently has the highest number of people in prison.
Where does the US rank in incarceration rate?
When looking at incarceration rates, the United States is ranked 6th the highest in the world, with 531 incarcerated people per 100k.