Incarceration Rates by Country 2022

If you’ve been sentenced to jail, you’re now in incarceration. In some form or another, every nation in the world has a prison system, although the specifics of that structure and the number of inmates housed there vary widely.

More than 2 million individuals are jailed in the United States, making it the global leader in this statistic (per data released in October 2021 by World Prison Brief).




This is the highest imprisonment rate in the world, with 629 individuals per 100,000 people, which is 25 percent of the world’s total jail population. Louisiana and Oklahoma have the highest jail populations in the United States.

Since 1972, the jail population in the United States has more than doubled, from 200,000 to more than a million people. However, the present rate is the lowest in the last 20 years.

Incarceration Rates by Country 2022

Ranking of the 10 countries having the most inmates

  1. United States — 2,068,800
  2. China — 1,690,000
  3. Brazil — 811,707
  4. India — 478,600
  5. Russia — 471,490
  6. Thailand — 309,282
  7. Turkey — 291,198
  8. Indonesia — 266,259
  9. Mexico — 220,866
  10. Iran — 189,000

The 10 most incarcerating Countries in the World




  1. United States — 629
  2. Rwanda — 580
  3. Turkmenistan — 576
  4. El Salvador — 564
  5. Cuba — 510
  6. Palau — 478
  7. British Virgin Islands (U.K. territory) — 477
  8. Thailand — 445
  9. Panama — 423
  10. Saint Kitts and Nevis — 423
Incarceration Rates by Country 2022

High imprisonment rates provide several difficulties.

In the United States, mass imprisonment is a civil rights concern.

In nations where marijuana is outlawed, groups like the Prison Policy Initiative claim that imprisonment harms disadvantaged populations by dehumanizing the poor and minorities and imprisoning them for minor infractions like marijuana possession.




A high imprisonment rate does not truly improve public safety, as shown by data on crime rates by nation, murder rates, rape statistics, and firearm violence per country. Capital punishment, sometimes known as the death penalty, does not fall within this category.

Overcrowding in prisons, which raises health hazards and harms inmates’ psychological well-being, is another problem that may arise due to mass imprisonment.

Many nations across the globe have prison populations that exceed the capacity of their jails. The prison population in Kenya now stands at 284 percent.

In addition, the enormous number of jails and inmates strains state funds to the limit.

Many factors contribute to the expense of running a prison: ensuring the safety of convicts, providing them with a wide range of activities to keep them occupied (including education), maintaining the facility’s infrastructure, and providing healthcare for the inmates.

Also See: Hardest Countries To Immigrate To 2022

Expenditures for state prisons may range widely, reaching as much as $69,355 per year per prisoner (the average cost of an inmate in New York).




CountryIncarceration RateTotal Incarcerated% Male% Female
United States62920688000.90000.1000
Rwanda580760990.95000.0500
Turkmenistan576350000.94000.0700
El Salvador564366630.93000.0700
Cuba51057337
Palau478860.95000.0500
British Virgin Islands4771430.96000.0500
Thailand4453092820.89000.1200
Panama434189420.95000.0500
Saint Kitts and Nevis4232200.96000.0400
Grenada4134630.99000.0100
United States Virgin Islands3944120.97000.0300
Bahamas39216170.97000.0300
Uruguay383134020.95000.0500
Brazil3818117070.95000.0500
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines3694100.97000.0300
Anguilla3675510
Guam3556000.93000.0700
Turkey3472911980.96000.0400
Belarus345325560.89000.1100
American Samoa3451930.96000.0400
Maldives33318000.96000.0400
Nicaragua332209180.95000.0500
Russia3264714900.92000.0800
Northern Mariana Islands3131750.94000.0600
Cayman Islands3122050.94000.0600
Costa Rica298153450.97000.0400
Cape Verde29615490.97000.0300
Barbados2968500.97000.0300
Namibia29574000.97000.0300
Seychelles2872850.93000.0700
Puerto Rico27888840.96000.0400
Eswatini27737960.97000.0300
Trinidad and Tobago27638020.97000.0300
Dominica27620410.5000
Fiji27425060.98000.0300
Gibraltar273920.93000.0700
Saint Lucia2685180.97000.0300
Peru259872510.95000.0500
Belize25810460.99000.0100
Georgia25394440.97000.0300
South Africa2481479220.98000.0200
Argentina2431094050.96000.0400
Gabon24144760.98000.0200
Dominican Republic239266000.97000.0300
Guyana23918840.97000.0300
Curacao2363770.97000.0300
Honduras234216750.94000.0600
Israel234193760.99000.0100
Bahrain23434850.95000.0500
Cambodia233390000.92000.0800
Morocco232849900.98000.0300
French Guiana2297120.92000.0800
Iran2281890000.97000.0300
Macau22515330.86000.1400
Greenland2251260.86000.1400
Ecuador224392510.93000.0700
Cook Islands224470.92000.0800
Taiwan219516730.91000.0900
Antigua and Barbuda2162100.95000.0500
Malaysia212695070.96000.0500
Chile212396700.92000.0800
Azerbaijan210212530.97000.0300
Saudi Arabia207680560.98000.0200
Paraguay205146480.95000.0500
Mauritius20526520.94000.0600
Martinique2057890.98000.0200
French Polynesia2055810.97000.0300
Samoa2024000.94000.0600
Bermuda2001240.97000.0300
Tunisia197234840.97000.0300
Colombia193976150.93000.0700
Poland190719070.95000.0500
Slovakia189103330.93000.0700
Brunei1868410.88000.1200
Singapore185111980.89000.1100
Suriname18510000.97000.0300
Lithuania18451530.95000.0500
Mongolia18358320.96000.0500
Moldova18164230.94000.0600
New Caledonia1815200.99000.0100
Albania17950420.98000.0200
Sint Maarten179770.95000.0500
Kazakhstan177332170.95000.0500
Czech Republic177189690.92000.0800
Jordan174177080.98000.0200
Hungary172167520.92000.0800
Myanmar171920000.88000.1200
Guadeloupe1707630.97000.0300
Mexico1692208660.94000.0600
Estonia16822310.95000.0500
Australia167429090.93000.0800
Tonga1661760.96000.0500
Latvia16531240.93000.0700
Aruba1651700.97000.0400
New Zealand16483970.94000.0600
Botswana16238820.95000.0500
Kyrgyzstan161101420.96000.0400
Malta1598210.93000.0700
Bolivia157182600.92000.0800
Serbia154105980.96000.0400
Algeria153650000.99000.0200
Philippines1511655830.90000.1000
Mayotte15143110.2000
Iraq145570000.97000.0300
Bhutan14511190.96000.0400
Uganda142650000.96000.0400
Ukraine140492110.96000.0400
Nauru140140.93000.0700
Libya13991000.99000.0100
Montenegro1398630.97000.0300
Guatemala136249420.89000.1100
Sri Lanka135289150.95000.0500
Vietnam1301256970.88000.1200
Laos13090000.86000.1400
Jamaica13037190.96000.0400
Micronesia12713210
Isle of Man1251060.94000.0600
Zambia123228230.97000.0300
Romania120229210.96000.0500
China11916900000.91000.0900
France119629910.96000.0400
Egypt1181200000.96000.0400
Zimbabwe115204070.98000.0200
Sao Tome and Principe1152600.96000.0400
Spain113554330.93000.0700
Venezuela113375430.94000.0600
Portugal113116030.93000.0700
Kiribati1131290.99000.0100
Kuwait11144200.94000.0600
Tuvalu1101110
South Korea105539200.93000.0700
Canada104385700.94000.0600
United Arab Emirates10498260.88000.1200
Greece103110010.95000.0500
North Macedonia10321250.97000.0300
Haiti100115000.96000.0400
Ethiopia991100000.96000.0400
Madagascar99276000.94000.0600
Lebanon9866700.97000.0300
Croatia9839410.94000.0600
Indonesia972662590.95000.0500
Hong Kong9671070.81000.1900
Belgium93108080.95000.0500
Bulgaria9364270.97000.0300
Lesotho9220730.96000.0400
Italy91539300.96000.0400
Austria9181320.94000.0600
Angola89260000.97000.0300
Burundi86116750.93000.0700
Luxembourg865480.95000.0500
Vanuatu862530.98000.0300
Nepal85257580.95000.0500
Cameroon85224300.97000.0300
Tajikistan8380000.98000.0200
Bosnia and Herzegovina8318130.97000.0300
Ivory Coast82214300.98000.0300
Kenya81425960.93000.0700
Cyprus807160.95000.0500
Solomon Islands795000.98000.0200
Andorra78610.88000.1200
Afghanistan77282400.97000.0300
Ireland7538020.96000.0400
Benin7390000.97000.0300
Sweden7376070.94000.0600
Switzerland7363160.94000.0600
Denmark7242270.96000.0400
Armenia7221450.97000.0300
Malawi71145000.99000.0100
Djibouti716620.95000.0500
Germany70580040.94000.0600
Uzbekistan6822867
Senegal68115470.97000.0300
Marshall Islands663510
Slovenia6413600.95000.0500
Equatorial Guinea635000.95000.0500
Syria60105990.93000.0700
Netherlands60105420.95000.0500
Chad5987000.98000.0200
Papua New Guinea5850870.95000.0500
Mozambique57183780.97000.0300
Norway5630340.96000.0500
Timor-Leste547570.96000.0400
Qatar5311500.85000.1500
Tanzania52324380.97000.0300
Sudan52210000.98000.0200
Liberia5126200.97000.0300
South Sudan5070000.89000.1100
Togo5041170.98000.0200
Finland5027430.92000.0800
Bangladesh48831070.96000.0400
Sierra Leone4738080.99000.0200
Mauritania4721750.99000.0100
Oman4519600.96000.0500
Ghana42132000.99000.0100
Niger3991870.96000.0400
Pakistan37821390.98000.0200
Japan37470640.92000.0900
Burkina Faso3776210.98000.0200
Comoros373220.98000.0200
India354786000.96000.0400
Yemen3597190.99000.0100
Mali3470000.97000.0300
Monaco34130.92000.0800
Nigeria32685560.98000.0200
Guinea-Bissau315960.97000.0300
Liechtenstein31120.86000.1400
Guinea3037820.97000.0300
DR Congo29205500.97000.0300
Iceland291060.93000.0700
Republic of the Congo2713880.96000.0400
Gambia235430.98000.0300
Faroe Islands18910
Central African Republic167640.97000.0300
North Korea
Somalia
Eritrea
San Marino0000




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