Ranking Countries

← All measures· safety · grade B

Incarceration rate

People held in prison per 100,000 population. State figures count state prisons; international totals may include jails and remand. Scope is matched where possible.

Darker = better (lower), by rank · 192 countries · UNODC (prisons & prisoners) · tap a country to pin it here

Countries

192 · UNODC (prisons & prisoners)
  1. 1stVatican City02023
  2. 2ndYemen112022
  3. 3rdSomalia152023
  4. 4thGambia212021
  5. 5thRepublic of the Congo252019
  6. 6thSan Marino262021
  7. 7thNigeria322022
  8. 8thGuinea-Bissau322017
  9. 9thJapan322023
  10. 10thMonaco332022
  11. 11thGuinea342019
  12. 12thEquatorial Guinea342015
  13. 13thIceland362023
  14. 14thPakistan362022
  15. 15thMali382022
  16. 16thBurkina Faso392022
  17. 17thIndia402022
  18. 18thGhana412022
  19. 19thDR Congo432022
  20. 20thOman472015
  21. 21stBangladesh482022
  22. 22ndSudan492017
  23. 23rdComoros502023
  24. 24thNiger502023
  25. 25thTanzania502022
  26. 26thPapua New Guinea522023
  27. 27thChad522022
  28. 28thCentral African Republic522023
  29. 29thFinland532023
  30. 30thLiberia562021
  31. 31stTogo562021
  32. 32ndTimor-Leste572021
  33. 33rdAndorra582022
  34. 34thSyria582004
  35. 35thMauritania582022
  36. 36thSierra Leone582022
  37. 37thNorway622023
  38. 38thVanuatu642021
  39. 39thNetherlands652023
  40. 40thMozambique652023
  41. 41stDjibouti662022
  42. 42ndSolomon Islands682018
  43. 43rdSlovenia682023
  44. 44thDenmark702023
  45. 45thGermany702023
  46. 46thAngola702022
  47. 47thMarshall Islands702014
  48. 48thAfghanistan712021
  49. 49thQatar712022
  50. 50thCyprus712023
  51. 51stKyrgyzstan712023
  52. 52ndSenegal732023
  53. 53rdSwitzerland752023
  54. 54thSouth Sudan772021
  55. 55thMalawi802022
  56. 56thKosovo802020
  57. 57thBulgaria812023
  58. 58thIvory Coast832022
  59. 59thUzbekistan832022
  60. 60thArmenia842023
  61. 61stCanada912022
  62. 62ndLuxembourg912023
  63. 63rdIreland912023
  64. 64thSweden922023
  65. 65thEthiopia932020
  66. 66thNepal932022
  67. 67thKuwait932023
  68. 68thBurundi932022
  69. 69thSri Lanka962022
  70. 70thBenin972021
  71. 71stMadagascar982023
  72. 72ndIndonesia992022
  73. 73rdAustria1002023
  74. 74thGreece1002023
  75. 75thTuvalu1002014
  76. 76thHaiti1002022
  77. 77thLesotho1002019
  78. 78thBelgium1022023
  79. 79thItaly1032023
  80. 80thEgypt1042020
  81. 81stKenya1092022
  82. 82ndUnited Arab Emirates1092016
  83. 83rdKiribati1092016
  84. 84thBosnia and Herzegovina1102023
  85. 85thLebanon1102023
  86. 86thCroatia1142023
  87. 87thSouth Korea1142023
  88. 88thFrance1142023
  89. 89thCameroon1162022
  90. 90thUkraine1172023
  91. 91stPortugal1182023
  92. 92ndSpain1182023
  93. 93rdZambia1192022
  94. 94thTajikistan1202023
  95. 95thSão Tomé and Príncipe1202018
  96. 96thLiechtenstein1212023
  97. 97thMicronesia1222014
  98. 98thNorth Macedonia1242023
  99. 99thRomania1242023
  100. 100thMalta1262023
  101. 101stJamaica1312023
  102. 102ndGuatemala1342023
  103. 103rdUnited Kingdom1342022
  104. 104thVietnam1342022
  105. 105thEstonia1352023
  106. 106thZimbabwe1382023
  107. 107thBrunei1402022
  108. 108thUganda1492022
  109. 109thNew Zealand1552022
  110. 110thPhilippines1592022
  111. 111thLithuania1592023
  112. 112thSaudi Arabia1602019
  113. 113thAustralia1612023
  114. 114thBotswana1632022
  115. 115thMongolia1652023
  116. 116thMontenegro1652023
  117. 117thLaos1672018
  118. 118thJordan1702022
  119. 119thSingapore1702023
  120. 120thSamoa1712019
  121. 121stIraq1712021
  122. 122ndSuriname1732023
  123. 123rdSerbia1732023
  124. 124thEcuador1732023
  125. 125thLatvia1742023
  126. 126thKazakhstan1762022
  127. 127thSlovakia1762023
  128. 128thAlbania1782023
  129. 129thMexico1802023
  130. 130thCzechia1812023
  131. 131stHonduras1832023
  132. 132ndHungary1852023
  133. 133rdMauritius1872022
  134. 134thMyanmar1892020
  135. 135thPoland1922023
  136. 136thTunisia1952021
  137. 137thColombia2012023
  138. 138thMoldova2102022
  139. 139thAlgeria2122021
  140. 140thIsrael2132023
  141. 141stIran2152020
  142. 142ndMalaysia2162023
  143. 143rdGabon2202021
  144. 144thCambodia2212022
  145. 145thDominican Republic2292023
  146. 146thSouth Africa2322022
  147. 147thBolivia2362023
  148. 148thVenezuela2382022
  149. 149thRussia2432023
  150. 150thAntigua and Barbuda2512022
  151. 151stBahrain2522022
  152. 152ndSeychelles2532022
  153. 153rdBhutan2552019
  154. 154thTrinidad and Tobago2562021
  155. 155thGeorgia2562022
  156. 156thFiji2602021
  157. 157thParaguay2612023
  158. 158thLibya2612023
  159. 159thAzerbaijan2632023
  160. 160thChile2702023
  161. 161stMorocco2722023
  162. 162ndArgentina2752023
  163. 163rdGuyana2762023
  164. 164thBarbados2772023
  165. 165thEswatini2792022
  166. 166thPeru2852023
  167. 167thBelize2982022
  168. 168thNamibia3032016
  169. 169thCape Verde3052018
  170. 170thCosta Rica3132023
  171. 171stNauru3202023
  172. 172ndGrenada3232023
  173. 173rdSaint Lucia3262023
  174. 174thNicaragua3272018
  175. 175thBahamas3322022
  176. 176thTürkiye3342023
  177. 177thBelarus3432018
  178. 178thPalau3722023
  179. 179thBrazil3992022
  180. 180thMaldives4042017
  181. 181stThailand4082023
  182. 182ndTurkmenistan4682017
  183. 183rdUruguay4762023
  184. 184thSaint Vincent and the Grenadines4842023
  185. 185thUnited States5292022
  186. 186thTonga5302022
  187. 187thPanama5372023
  188. 188thSaint Kitts and Nevis5372022
  189. 189thEl Salvador5972020
  190. 190thDominica6102023
  191. 191stRwanda6212022
  192. 192ndCuba8052020

US states

50 · Bureau of Justice Statistics
  1. 1stMassachusetts96
  2. 2ndMaine119
  3. 3rdRhode Island122
  4. 4thVermont124
  5. 5thNew Jersey125
  6. 6thNew Hampshire151
  7. 7thMinnesota152
  8. 8thHawaii165
  9. 9thNew York167
  10. 10thWashington181
  11. 11thConnecticut183
  12. 12thUtah186
  13. 13thAlaska202
  14. 14thIllinois238
  15. 15thNorth Dakota240
  16. 16thCalifornia246
  17. 17thNew Mexico259
  18. 18thMaryland261
  19. 19thIowa274
  20. 20thDelaware275
  21. 20thNorth Carolina275
  22. 22ndColorado290
  23. 23rdOregon291
  24. 24thNebraska295
  25. 25thSouth Carolina299
  26. 26thPennsylvania300
  27. 27thKansas305
  28. 28thVirginia314
  29. 29thNevada327
  30. 30thMichigan328
  31. 30thWest Virginia328
  32. 32ndTennessee341
  33. 33rdWisconsin346
  34. 34thIndiana351
  35. 35thWyoming378
  36. 36thFlorida382
  37. 37thMissouri385
  38. 38thAlabama394
  39. 38thOhio394
  40. 40thSouth Dakota405
  41. 41stKentucky423
  42. 42ndMontana438
  43. 43rdArizona448
  44. 44thGeorgia449
  45. 45thTexas477
  46. 46thIdaho490
  47. 47thOklahoma545
  48. 48thArkansas596
  49. 49thLouisiana617
  50. 50thMississippi652

192 countries ranked and 50 US states.

Top 10 countries with the lowest prisoner population →

Keep exploring

More on safety

Who leads the world

Vatican City leads on incarceration rate — see where it lands on every other measure, and which US state it most resembles.

From the blog: Why the UK has no incarceration number · WHO, UNODC, and the problem of counting deaths

All 68 measures →Every country ranked →Every US state →All the Top 10s →The overall board →How we read the data →

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