demographic2026
Prison population rate
Latest available country observation from Our World in Data, based on the chart's cited sources. The series currently runs through 2026; countries can have different observation years.
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Key Insights
Global Average
187.0prisoners per 100,000 people
Median: 149.0prisoners per 100,000 people
Countries Covered
219
with available data
Highest
El Salvador
1,659.0prisoners per 100,000 people
Lowest
Yemen
14.0prisoners per 100,000 people
Top 5 Countries
1El Salvador1,659.0prisoners per 100,000 people
2Cuba794.0prisoners per 100,000 people
3Rwanda620.0prisoners per 100,000 people
4Turkmenistan576.0prisoners per 100,000 people
5United States of America542.0prisoners per 100,000 people
By Region
South America310.3prisoners per 100,000 people(7 countries)
North America235.8prisoners per 100,000 people(4 countries)
Other209.1prisoners per 100,000 people(138 countries)
Oceania184.5prisoners per 100,000 people(2 countries)
Asia140.3prisoners per 100,000 people(27 countries)
Country Rankings
Top 10 Countries
Bottom 10 Countries
Data Analysis
Value Distribution
How countries are distributed across the value range
Low (14.0prisoners per 100,000 people)High (1,659.0prisoners per 100,000 people)
Regional Comparison
Average values by world region (Global avg: 187.0prisoners per 100,000 people)
South America (7)
North America (4)
Other (138)
Oceania (2)
Asia (27)
Africa (9)
Europe (32)
Percentile Profile
The curve shows how values change from the lowest to the highest country. Steep sections reveal inequality or outliers.
0th percentile · lowest100th percentile · highest
About This Statistic
Latest available country observation from Our World in Data, based on the chart's cited sources. The series currently runs through 2026; countries can have different observation years. Source: Our World in Data.
Methodology
Country values are taken from the latest observation available in the linked source series.
Full Data
| Rank ↑ | Country ↕ | Value ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Salvador | 1,659.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 2 | Cuba | 794.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 3 | Rwanda | 620.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 4 | Turkmenistan | 576.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 5 | United States of America | 542.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 6 | American Samoa | 538.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 7 | Panama | 533.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 8 | Guam | 530.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 9 | Tonga | 516.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 10 | Türkiye | 468.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 11 | Cape Verde | 467.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 12 | Uruguay | 449.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 13 | Virgin Islands, British | 426.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 14 | Brazil | 416.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 15 | Antigua and Barbuda | 400.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 16 | Thailand | 395.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 17 | Seychelles | 392.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 18 | Eswatini | 369.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 19 | Palau | 367.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 20 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 361.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 21 | Dominica | 356.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 22 | Belarus | 345.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 23 | Costa Rica | 345.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 24 | Nauru | 345.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 25 | Bahamas | 336.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 26 | Nicaragua | 332.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 27 | Chile | 329.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 28 | Grenada | 324.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 29 | French Guiana | 321.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 30 | Cambodia | 320.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 31 | Namibia | 318.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 32 | Saint Lucia | 310.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 33 | Northern Mariana Islands | 304.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 34 | Belize | 302.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 35 | Russian Federation | 300.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 36 | Peru | 299.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 37 | Martinique | 298.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 38 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 296.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 39 | Greenland | 294.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 40 | Guyana | 288.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 41 | Georgia | 285.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 42 | Argentina | 284.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 43 | Cayman Islands | 280.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 44 | Trinidad and Tobago | 276.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 45 | Gibraltar | 273.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 46 | Taiwan, Province of China | 270.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 47 | Libya | 269.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 48 | Morocco | 267.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 49 | Tunisia | 267.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 50 | Azerbaijan | 264.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 51 | Curaçao | 262.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 52 | South Africa | 260.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 53 | Paraguay | 259.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 54 | Moldova, Republic of | 255.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 55 | Bolivia | 252.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 56 | Virgin Islands, U.S. | 251.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 57 | Fiji | 248.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 58 | Guadeloupe | 247.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 59 | Malaysia | 244.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 60 | Anguilla | 240.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 61 | Barbados | 240.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 62 | Bahrain | 234.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 63 | Aruba | 233.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 64 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 228.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 65 | Gabon | 226.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 66 | Maldives | 225.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 67 | Dominican Republic | 219.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 68 | Israel | 217.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 69 | Algeria | 217.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 70 | Mauritius | 215.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 71 | Mayotte | 204.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 72 | French Polynesia | 200.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 73 | Bermuda | 200.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 74 | Colombia | 199.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 75 | New Zealand | 199.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 76 | Venezuela | 199.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 77 | Ecuador | 196.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 78 | Hungary | 196.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 79 | Sint Maarten (Dutch part) | 196.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 80 | Albania | 196.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 81 | Jordan | 194.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 82 | Poland | 191.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 83 | Honduras | 188.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 84 | Mexico | 188.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 85 | New Caledonia | 186.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 86 | Isle of Man | 186.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 87 | Macao | 185.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 88 | Myanmar | 183.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 89 | Sri Lanka | 180.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 90 | Czech Republic | 179.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 91 | Iraq | 179.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 92 | Samoa | 179.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 93 | Singapore | 178.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 94 | Puerto Rico | 177.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 95 | Serbia | 177.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 96 | Latvia | 175.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 97 | Reunion | 170.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 98 | Australia | 170.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 99 | Jersey | 169.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 100 | Montenegro | 168.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 101 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 166.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 102 | Mongolia | 166.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 103 | Kazakhstan | 163.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 104 | Botswana | 161.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 105 | Cook Islands | 156.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 106 | Lithuania | 156.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 107 | Philippines | 151.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 108 | Zimbabwe | 150.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 109 | Uganda | 150.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 110 | Slovakia | 149.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 111 | Tajikistan | 145.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 112 | Bhutan | 145.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 113 | Benin | 144.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 114 | Brunei Darussalam | 143.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 115 | The Republic of North Macedonia | 142.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 116 | Lebanon | 141.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 117 | Saudi Arabia | 140.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 118 | United Kingdom | 139.3prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 119 | Hong Kong | 139.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 120 | Zambia | 137.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 121 | Vietnam | 135.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 122 | Suriname | 134.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 123 | Romania | 129.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 124 | Sao Tome and Principe | 129.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 125 | Micronesia, Federated States of | 127.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 126 | France | 126.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 127 | Jamaica | 124.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 128 | Guernsey | 124.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 129 | Guatemala | 123.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 130 | Portugal | 121.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 131 | Spain | 121.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 132 | People's Republic of China | 119.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 133 | Malta | 119.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 134 | Cameroon | 118.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 135 | Estonia | 118.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 136 | Lesotho | 117.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 137 | Ukraine | 116.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 138 | Croatia | 115.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 139 | South Korea | 115.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 140 | Cyprus | 114.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 141 | Kiribati | 113.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 142 | Egypt | 113.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 143 | Belgium | 113.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 144 | Kyrgyzstan | 112.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 145 | Tuvalu | 110.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 146 | Italy | 108.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 147 | United Arab Emirates | 104.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 148 | Austria | 104.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 149 | Ireland | 101.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 150 | Kuwait | 101.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 151 | Kenya | 100.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 152 | Bulgaria | 99.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 153 | Ethiopia | 99.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 154 | Greece | 98.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 155 | Indonesia | 96.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 156 | Madagascar | 95.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 157 | Cote d'Ivoire | 94.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 158 | Nepal | 93.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 159 | Sweden | 92.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 160 | Luxembourg | 91.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 161 | Burundi | 90.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 162 | Canada | 90.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 163 | Uzbekistan | 85.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 164 | Armenia | 83.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 165 | Monaco | 81.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 166 | Malawi | 78.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 167 | Switzerland | 77.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 168 | Senegal | 76.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 169 | Djibouti | 74.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 170 | Solomon Islands | 74.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 171 | Germany | 71.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 172 | Andorra | 71.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 173 | Denmark | 69.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 174 | Qatar | 69.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 175 | Slovenia | 69.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 176 | Vanuatu | 68.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 177 | Marshall Islands | 66.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 178 | Angola | 65.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 179 | Netherlands | 64.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 180 | Equatorial Guinea | 63.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 181 | Mozambique | 63.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 182 | Liberia | 60.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 183 | Syrian Arab Republic | 60.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 184 | Haiti | 59.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 185 | Togo | 59.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 186 | South Sudan | 58.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 187 | Mauritania | 57.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 188 | Papua New Guinea | 57.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 189 | Chad | 56.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 190 | Niger | 55.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 191 | Timor-Leste | 55.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 192 | Finland | 54.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 193 | Norway | 54.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 194 | Afghanistan | 54.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 195 | Central African Republic | 52.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 196 | Sierra Leone | 52.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 197 | Sudan | 52.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 198 | Mali | 48.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 199 | Comoros | 46.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 200 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 46.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 201 | Oman | 46.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 202 | Bangladesh | 46.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 203 | Pakistan | 45.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 204 | San Marino | 44.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 205 | Ghana | 41.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 206 | United Republic of Tanzania | 41.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 207 | Guinea | 38.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 208 | India | 37.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 209 | Burkina Faso | 37.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 210 | Iceland | 35.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 211 | Japan | 33.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 212 | Nigeria | 33.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 213 | Guinea-Bissau | 31.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 214 | Republic of the Congo | 27.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 215 | Faroe Islands | 24.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 216 | Republic of The Gambia | 22.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 217 | Liechtenstein | 20.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 218 | Somalia | 16.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
| 219 | Yemen | 14.0prisoners per 100,000 people |
Showing 219 of 219 countries
Topics
Data Source
This data comes from Our World in Data (2026).
View Original Source