Prison population statistics are usually presented in two different ways:
- Prison population rate: the number of people in prison per 100,000 inhabitants (this helps compare countries of different sizes).
- Prison population number: the total number of people held in custody (this shows the real scale of incarceration in absolute terms).
Both measures matter. A country can have a high incarceration rate but a small total prison population if the country is small. Another country can have a moderate rate but still hold a very large number of people because its overall population is huge.
What does “prison population” include?
Depending on how each jurisdiction reports data, “prison population” typically refers to people held in prisons and correctional facilities. In many places, this may include:
- inmates / prisoners
- incarcerated people
- people in custody
- people in detention (including remand or pre-trial detention in some systems)
Definitions and reporting methods can vary by country, so rates and totals should be read as officially reported figures for that location, not as perfectly identical categories worldwide.
How to read the table
In the list below:
- Rate = prisoners per 100,000 people
- Number = total prison population reported for that location
Use the rate to compare how common imprisonment is, and the number to understand how many people are affected overall.
| Location | Per 100k inhabitants | Total |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 541 | 1,808,100 |
| China | 119 | 1,690,000 |
| Brazil | 392 | 850,377 |
| India | 41 | 573,220 |
| Russia | 300 | 433,006 |
| Turkey | 424 | 362,422 |
| Thailand | 391 | 274,277 |
| Indonesia | 96 | 273,541 |
| Mexico | 174 | 233,687 |
| Iran | 228 | 189,000 |
| Philippines | 162 | 180,826 |
| South Africa | 258 | 157,056 |
| Vietnam | 135 | 133,986 |
| Egypt | 116 | 120,000 |
| Argentina | 254 | 117,810 |
| Ethiopia | 99 | 110,000 |
| El Salvador | 1,659 | 109,519 |
| Colombia | 200 | 103,530 |
| Morocco | 267 | 102,653 |
| Myanmar | 183 | 100,324 |
| Peru | 285 | 97,605 |
| Algeria | 217 | 94,749 |
| Cuba | 794 | 90,000 |
| Rwanda | 637 | 89,034 |
| Pakistan | 38 | 87,712 |
| United Kingdom: England & Wales | 140 | 86,256 |
| Bangladesh | 50 | 84,851 |
| Nigeria | 37 | 84,767 |
| Malaysia | 241 | 82,144 |
| France | 115 | 78,509 |
| Uganda | 152 | 76,946 |
| Iraq | 179 | 73,715 |
| Poland | 194 | 70,927 |
| Saudi Arabia | 207 | c. 68,056. |
| Venezuela | 199 | 67,200 |
| Italy | 105 | 61,758 |
| Kenya | 103 | 60,000 |
| Taiwan | 250 | 58,571 |
| Chile | 306 | 58,248 |
| Germany | 68 | 57,955 |
| Spain | 117 | 56,698 |
| South Korea | 103 | 52,940 |
| Cambodia | 257 | 45,122 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 46 | 44,536 |
| Ukraine | 130 | 44,024 |
| Australia | 157 | 41,929 |
| Japan | 33 | 40,881 |
| Canada | 90 | 35,485 |
| Kazakhstan | 184 | 35,228 |
| Turkmenistan | 576 | 35,000 |
| Ecuador | 180 | 33,472 |
| Tanzania | 50 | 32,671 |
| Belarus | 345 | 32,556 |
| Cameroon | 116 | 32,003 |
| Madagascar | 101 | 30,530 |
| Uzbekistan | 85 | 29,000 |
| Sri Lanka | 131 | 28,555 |
| Nepal | 90 | 27,550 |
| Dominican Republic | 231 | 25,987 |
| Ivory Coast | 91 | 25,928 |
| Zambia | 125 | 25,372 |
| Bolivia | 209 | 25,291 |
| Azerbaijan | 244 | 24,698 |
| Angola | 68 | 24,490 |
| Romania | 126 | 24,106 |
| Zimbabwe | 153 | 24,068 |
| Panama | 522 | 23,798 |
| Tunisia | 196 | 23,484 |
| Guatemala | 123 | 23,361 |
| Mozambique | 63 | 21,814 |
| Sudan | 52 | 21,000 |
| Nicaragua | 332 | 20,918 |
| Israel | 217 | 19,756 |
| Czech Republic | 179 | 19,649 |
| Honduras | 189 | 19,500 |
| Jordan | 185 | 19,140 |
| Libya | 269 | 19,103 |
| Afghanistan | 45 | 19,000 |
| Hungary | 192 | 18,270 |
| Benin | 138 | 18,170 |
| Costa Rica | 343 | 17,829 |
| Paraguay | 239 | 17,712 |
| Malawi | 76 | 16,366 |
| Uruguay | 449 | 15,767 |
| Ghana | 42 | 14,361 |
| Tajikistan | 141 | 14,000 |
| Burundi | 103 | 13,824 |
| Senegal | 69 | 13,185 |
| Portugal | 115 | 12,339 |
| Belgium | 104 | 12,316 |
| Laos | 166 | 11,885 |
| Netherlands | 64 | 11,537 |
| Serbia | 162 | 10,787 |
| Syria | 60 | 10,599 |
| Georgia | 275 | 10,523 |
| Greece | 98 | 10,242 |
| Niger | 40 | 10,179 |
| Sweden | 96 | 10,175 |
| United Arab Emirates | 104 | 9,826 |
| New Zealand | 181 | 9,638 |
| Singapore | 156 | 9,536 |
| Austria | 101 | 9,275 |
| Lebanon | 141 | 9,254 |
| Hong Kong (China) | 121 | 9,079 |
| Namibia | 318 | 8,900 |
| Slovakia | 164 | 8,895 |
| Burkina Faso | 39 | 8,800 |
| Chad | 59 | 8,700 |
| Mali | 40 | 8,670 |
| South Sudan | 58 | 8,400 |
| United Kingdom: Scotland | 150 | 8,274 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 117 | 7,633 |
| Haiti | 63 | 7,523 |
| Switzerland | 77 | 6,881 |
| Bulgaria | 99 | 6,378 |
| Mongolia | 183 | 5,832 |
| Puerto Rico (USA) | 177 | 5,798 |
| Moldova | 235 | 5,695 |
| Papua New Guinea | 57 | 5,373 |
| Gabon | 228 | 5,226 |
| Togo | 59 | 4,990 |
| Ireland | 91 | 4,964 |
| Albania | 168 | 4,565 |
| Lithuania | 156 | 4,551 |
| Kuwait | 101 | 4,500 |
| Sierra Leone | 52 | 4,453 |
| Croatia | 115 | 4,445 |
| Guinea | 34 | 4,375 |
| Yemen | 14 | 4,268 |
| Denmark | 69 | 4,083 |
| Botswana | 161 | 3,971 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 276 | 3,802 |
| Jamaica | 125 | 3,559 |
| Bahrain | 234 | 3,485 |
| Eswatini/Swaziland | 243 | 3,405 |
| Latvia | 175 | 3,271 |
| Norway | 55 | 3,052 |
| Liberia | 55 | 3,000 |
| Finland | 52 | 2,912 |
| Mauritania | 57 | 2,826 |
| Mauritius | 215 | 2,755 |
| Central African Republic | 52 | 2,678 |
| North Macedonia | 140 | 2,555 |
| Armenia | 83 | 2,469 |
| Fiji | 248 | 2,276 |
| Lesotho | 104 | 2,216 |
| Guyana | 271 | 2,156 |
| Cape Verde | 366 | 2,100 |
| Qatar | 69 | 2,055 |
| Oman | 46 | 1,960 |
| United Kingdom: Northern Ireland | 99 | 1,910 |
| Slovenia | 86 | 1,831 |
| Kosovo | 99 | 1,830 |
| Estonia | 129 | 1,805 |
| Maldives | 314 | 1,700 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina: Federation | 79 | 1,688 |
| Bahamas | 409 | 1,617 |
| Reunion (France) | 156 | 1,440 |
| Republic of the Congo | 27 | 1,388 |
| Macau (China) | 196 | 1,345 |
| Belize | 289 | 1,199 |
| Bhutan | 145 | 1,119 |
| Montenegro | 170 | 1,046 |
| Martinique (France) | 275 | 1,025 |
| French Guiana (France) | 310 | 1,022 |
| Suriname | 185 | 1,000 |
| Cyprus (Republic of Cyprus) | 103 | 966 |
| Guadeloupe (France) | 230 | 916 |
| Brunei | 186 | 841 |
| Guam (USA) | 475 | 820 |
| East Timor | 55 | 763 |
| Barbados | 258 | 743 |
| Malta | 119 | 671 |
| Djibouti | 71 | c. 662 |
| Mayotte (France) | 205 | 616 |
| Luxembourg | 89 | 600 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 31 | 596 |
| French Polynesia (France) | 200 | 575 |
| St. Lucia | 308 | 572 |
| New Caledonia (France) | 190 | 563 |
| Tonga | 516 | 557 |
| Gambia | 22 | 543 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina: Republika Srpska | 44 | 524 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 63 | 500 |
| Solomon Islands | 79 | 500 |
| Seychelles | 393 | 474 |
| Curaçao (Netherlands) | 261 | 429 |
| Comoros | 46 | 422 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 400 | 400 |
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 353 | 392 |
| Grenada | 338 | 385 |
| Samoa | 179 | 358 |
| Aruba (Netherlands) | 288 | 311 |
| American Samoa (USA) | 538 | 301 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 129 | 300 |
| Dominica | 348 | 261 |
| United States Virgin Islands (USA) | 251 | 261 |
| Cayman Islands (United Kingdom) | 277 | 226 |
| Vanuatu | 65 | 195 |
| Northern Mariana Islands (USA) | 304 | 170 |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | 296 | 160 |
| Jersey (United Kingdom) | 135 | 146 |
| Iceland | 35 | 140 |
| Greenland (Denmark) | 241 | 136 |
| Isle of Man (United Kingdom) | 153 | 132 |
| Micronesia | 127 | 132 |
| Kiribati | 113 | 129 |
| Bermuda (United Kingdom) | 200 | 124 |
| British Virgin Islands (United Kingdom) | 368 | 114 |
| Guernsey (United Kingdom) | 143 | 95 |
| Gibraltar (United Kingdom) | 273 | 92 |
| Sint Maarten (Netherlands) | 196 | 87 |
| Palau | 367 | 66 |
| Andorra | 60 | 51 |
| Cook Islands (New Zealand) | 224 | 47 |
| Nauru | 345 | 38 |
| Anguilla (United Kingdom) | 240 | 36 |
| Marshall Islands | 66 | 35 |
| Monaco | 81 | 31 |
| Liechtenstein | 35 | 14 |
| Faroe Islands (Denmark) | 23 | 12 |
| Tuvalu | 110 | 11 |
| San Marino | 3 | 1 |
| North Korea | ? | ? |