Global InformationComparison of United States incarceration rate with other countries information
| Year | Count | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 264,834 | 201 |
| 1950 | 264,620 | 176 |
| 1960 | 346,015 | 193 |
| 1970 | 328,020 | 161 |
| 1980 | 503,586 | 220 |
| 1985 | 744,208 | 311 |
| 1990 | 1,148,702 | 457 |
| 1995 | 1,585,586 | 592 |
| 2000 | 1,937,482 | 683 |
| 2002 | 2,033,022 | 703 |
| 2004 | 2,135,335 | 725 |
| 2006 | 2,258,792 | 752 |
| 2008 | 2,307,504 | 755 |
| 2010 | 2,270,142 | 731 |
| 2012 | 2,228,424 | 707 |
| 2014 | 2,217,947 | 693 |
| 2016 | 2,157,800 | 666 |
| 2018 | 2,102,400 | 642 |
| 2020 | 1,675,400 | 505 |
| 2021 | 1,767,200 | 531 |
In 2021, the United States had 1,767,200 inmates in adult facilities (prisons and jails).[3] This left America with the highest prison population if China's latest official number (2018) of 1,690,000 (sentenced prisoners only) were used. According to the World Prison Brief the total number in China would be much higher if pre-trial detainees and those held in administrative detention were added. And yet more depending on the number of Uyghurs being held.[4] The 2021 US incarceration rate of 531 per 100,000 population was the 6th highest rate.[1] According to the World Prison Population List (11th edition) there were around 10.35 million people in penal institutions worldwide in 2015.[5] The US had 2,173,800 prisoners in adult facilities in 2015.[6] That means the US held 21.0% of the world's prisoners in 2015, even though the US represented only around 4.4 percent of the world's population in 2015.[7][8] In 2015 the US had the 2nd highest incarceration rate (698), behind the Seychelles rate of 799 per 100,000.[5]
Comparing English-speaking developed countries; the incarceration rate of Canada was 85 per 100,000 (as of 2020),[9] England and Wales was 146 per 100,000 (as of 2023),[10] and Australia was 158 per 100,000 (as of 2022).[11]
Comparing other developed countries, the rate of Spain was 113 per 100,000 (as of 2023),[12] France was 109 per 100,000 (as of 2023),[13] Germany was 67 per 100,000 (as of 2022),[14] Norway was 53 per 100,000 (as of 2023),[15] Netherlands was 65 per 100,000 (as of 2022),[16] Japan was 36 per 100,000 (as of 2021),[17] Sweden was 82 per 100,000 (as of 2023),[18] and Italy was 99 per 100,000 (as of 2023),[19]
Comparing other countries with harsh sentencing for illegal drugs, Saudi Arabia was 207 per 100,000 (as of 2017),[20] Russia was 300 per 100,000 (as of 2023),[21] Kazakhstan was 184 per 100,000 (as of 2022),[22] and Singapore was 156 per 100,000 (as of 2022).[23]
The incarceration rate of the People's Republic of China varies depending on sources and measures. According to the World Prison Brief, the rate for only sentenced prisoners was 119 per 100,000 (as of 2017). It would be much higher if pre-trial detainees, those held in administrative detention, and Uyghurs being held were included.[4]
- ^ 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. 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.
- ^ Jacob Kang-Brown, Chase Montagnet, and Jasmine Heiss. People in Jail and Prison in Spring 2021. New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2021.
- ^ a b United States of America. World Prison Brief.
- ^ a b China Archived 2019-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. World Prison Brief.
- ^ a b Walmsley, Roy (2 Feb 2016). World Prison Population List (11th edition) (PDF). From the Research & Publications page of the World Prison Brief website. From page 1 of the PDF: "The information is the latest available at the end of October 2015." And from page 2: "This report shows that more than 10.35 million people are held in penal institutions throughout the world, either as pre-trial detainees/remand prisoners or having been convicted and sentenced."
- ^ Correctional Populations in the United States, 2015. By Danielle Kaeble and Lauren Glaze, BJS Statisticians. Dec. 2016. Bureau of Justice Statistics. See PDF. Page 2 says: "At yearend 2015, an estimated 2,173,800 persons were either under the jurisdiction of state or federal prisons or in the custody of local jails in the United States". See also table 4 on page 4: "Rate of persons supervised by U.S. adult correctional systems, by correctional status, 2000 and 2005–2015".
- ^ US Population by Month. US resident population. Source: US Census Bureau.
- ^ The World Population Prospects: 2015 Revision. 29 July 2015 article. From United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 7.3 billion people in 2015.
- ^ Canada. World Prison Brief.
- ^ United Kingdom: England & Wales. World Prison Brief.
- ^ Australia. World Prison Brief.
- ^ Spain. World Prison Brief.
- ^ France. World Prison Brief.
- ^ Germany. World Prison Brief.
- ^ Norway. World Prison Brief.
- ^ Netherlands. World Prison Brief.
- ^ Japan. World Prison Brief.
- ^ Sweden. World Prison Brief.
- ^ Italy. World Prison Brief.
- ^ Saudi Arabia. World Prison Brief.
- ^ Russia. World Prison Brief.
- ^ Kazakhstan. World Prison Brief.
- ^ Singapore. World Prison Brief.