United States Leads World in Incarceration

LONDON — The United States has the largest prison population in the world and incarcerates its citizens at a greater rate than any other county, according to an international survey of prison populations.

The United States, which accounts for less than 5 percent of the world population of approximately 6.7 billion persons, houses almost 25 percent of the world’s 9.8 million inmates, according to the University of London’s 2009 World Prison Population List.

The number of inmates housed in U.S. prisons and jails reached a record high of 2.3 million during 2007, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (see Correctional News July/August).

The more populous China has 1.5 million persons incarcerated, the second-largest prison population ahead of Russia (891,000), Brazil (440,000) and India (373,000), according to the annual report compiled by the university’s International Centre for Prison Studies at King’s College.

The United States, which has a prison population rate of more than 756 inmates per 100,000 residents, also leads the world in inmates per capita, ahead of Russia, which has the second-highest rate of 629 inmates per 100,000 residents, according the ICPS report.

Almost 60 percent of the 218 countries and territories surveyed have prison population rates of less than 150 inmates per 100,000 residents.

Prison population rates in the European Union are considerably lower than the United States: 160 persons per 100,000 residents in Spain, 153 in England, 96 in France, and 89 in Germany. The median rate for countries across Western and Southern Europe is 95 persons per 100,000 residents, according to the ICPS report.

The ICPS survey includes data on many countries criticized for their human rights record, harsh justice system or totalitarian government.

Rwanda has an estimated prison population rate of 604 inmates per 100,000 residents, and the ICPS reports estimated rates of 531 for Cuba, 222 for Iran, 209 for Libya, 126 for Myanmar and 93 for Iraq.

The prison population rate in the United States is significantly higher than the average rates for the rest of the Americas and the continents of Africa, Asia and Oceania, according to ICPS estimates. In the Americas, the median rate is 154 for South American countries and 324 for Caribbean countries.

For southern African countries, which include South Africa, the median rate is 231, while the countries of West Africa, which include Nigeria, have a median rate of 35 persons per 100,000 residents, according to ICPS estimates.

The median rate for Oceania, which includes Australia and New Zealand, is 102. The rate for central Asia, which includes former Soviet states such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, is 184 persons per 100,000 residents.