First three countries on our latest list of 11 countries with the highest prison population hold almost half of all prisoners in the world. According to latest available data, 10.2 million people are incarcerated across the world, which means that 144 out of every 100,000 people are held in prisons. The number represents an increase of approximately 20-35 percent compared to 15 years ago when the prison population rate was 136 per 100.000.
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The prison population has grown on all five continents while in some countries the rise of incarceration rate was over 100 percent. The increase can be partly explained by the growth of world population. Although the number of over 10 million prisoners in the world might seem large, it should be noted that about one-third of inmates are held in penal institutions while waiting for a trial. In South Asia, the number of those held in pre-trial detention is as high as 65 percent of all prisoners. On the other side, among those who were sentenced, the majority was convicted to a prison sentence up to five years, while 0.2 percent received a death sentence. Although the death penalty has been abolished in 144 countries since 1978, Amnesty International estimates that 607 people were executed in 2014, but the actual number might be much higher as it is believed that thousands of executions were carried out only in China.
Taken as a whole, prison population mostly comes from poor and marginalized social classes. Many inmates grow up in troubled families or without parents. Children from these 11 countries with highest orphan population often get caught in a vicious cycle of criminal activities and eventually end up in prison.
We created the list of 11 countries with the highest prison population using Institute of Criminal Policy Research’s data. Besides countries’ prison population, we also present incarnation rates and occupancy level in penal institutions.
11. South Africa
Prison population: 159.241
Although South Africa has one of the highest numbers of prisoners in the world, the prison population rate actually decreased in last 15 years – while, at the beginning of the new century, there were 394 prisoners per 100.000 residents, in 2015 the prison rate was 292. Still, with an occupancy level of almost 133 percent, overcrowded prisons remain one of the main problems in South Africa’s correctional system. Three or more prisoners are locked in one cell for 23 hours, and they are allowed only one hour outside. The main reason behind overstuffed cells is a great number of pre-trial detainees who wait for the trial for months, even years, as many of them can’t pay bail or lawyer.
10. Indonesia
Prison population: 161.692
In the country that is notorious for its capital punishment for drug-related crimes, the prison population almost doubled over last fifteen years, while prison capacity increased by less than two percent. Latest estimates show that occupancy level is 148 percent, which makes prisons hotbed for infectious diseases. As in South Africa, people who are waiting for a trial represent a great percent of the total prison population. Moreover, according to some sources, 10 percent of prisoners are held behind bars beyond their sentence. Despite accumulating calls for abolishing death penalty made by international organization and world leaders, Indonesian government doesn’t give up on its harsh policy. In 2015, eight men, including two Australians, were executed because of drug smuggling.
9. Turkey
Prison population: 174.460
In 2015, Turkey had 222 prisoners per 100.000 residents, which is a threefold increase compared to 2000. Despite prisoners’ influx, the number of inmates slightly exceeds prison capacity, and current occupancy level is 101.7 percent, which is the lowest among countries on this list. Still, Turkish correction system has many flaws including severe violation of prisoners’ human rights. Kurds, which represent the largest minority in Turkey, are often subjected to torture and sexual abuse in penal institutions.
Three years ago Turkish newspaper reported on alleged sexual abuse of Kurdish children in juvenile detention center Pozanti, where children were held because of offenses such as illegal assembly or throwing stones. According to different sources, children were beaten, tortured and raped. After information about Pozanti had reached the public, authorities closed juvenile center and moved child inmates into Ankara’s Sincan Prison. However, the problem didn’t end here as many fear that similar patterns of abuse happen in other penal institutions across the country.
8. Iran
Prison population: 225.624
Iran, the country that has one of the most notorious correction systems in the world, had 289 inmates per 100.000 residents in 2014, which exceeded prisons capacity by 61.2 percent. Torture, sexual abuse, mock executions are the everyday reality for many inmates, especially for those who are imprisoned for political reasons.
In 2014, there were over 895 “prisoners of conscience” and “political prisoners”, many of whom were arrested only because they expressed an opinion that was perceived as a threat to the regime. Moreover, only in the first six months last year, 694 people were executed, while thousands were waiting in a death row. Although the government claimed that majority of death convicts were drug offenders, Amnesty International emphasized that among executed there were political prisoners.
7. Mexico
Prison population: 225.138
In last fifteen years, the prison population increased from 156 inmates per 100.000 residents to 212, in 2015. The report made by Mexico’s National Commission on Human Rights stressed several problems that seriously interfere with the functioning of the correction system, including decreasing prison capacity, poor security, mass killings and criminal activities behind bars.
In 2015, occupancy level in Mexico prison was 125.7 percent while in some prisons the number of inmates exceeded capacity by almost 40 percent. In overcrowded prisons, where guards often make an alliance with criminals, either because they count on extra cash or because they fear for lives of their families, high security standards aren’t easily maintained. Besides El Chapo, who spectacularly escaped from the maximum security facility in 2015, many others managed to flee from prisons. In 2012, almost 200 inmates escaped only from prison in Tamaulipas.
6. Thailand
Prison population: 313.580
With more than 300.000 inmates, Thailand ranks as sixth on our list of 11 countries with the highest prison population. Compared to other places on this list, Thailand has one of the highest rates of the prison population – in 2015, there were 465 inmates per 100.000 residents.
While in most prisons in the world, one of the guards’ main duties is to prevent clashes between prisoners, in Thai penal institutions boxing matches between inmates are allowed and encouraged by authorities. Inmates fight to earn cash and fame or to reduce their sentence. Some of them even have a chance to win a place in the country’s boxing team. There are no restrictions on who can enter a ring – among fighters there are people who are serving a life sentence for most serious crimes. Prison fights in Thailand have a long history that dates back to 18th century when one Thai fighter was pardoned by the king who was impressed by his victories in prison fights.
5. India
Prison population: 418.536
With only 33 inmates per 100.000 residents, India has the lowest rate of the prison population among countries on the list. Despite low rate, India struggles with a shortage of prison capacity as all other countries ranked here. In 2014, the number of prisoners exceeded capacity by 17.4 percents and in some prisons occupancy rate was more than 250 percent. Moreover, two-thirds of inmates are pre-trial detainees who spend time behind bars while waiting for sentence.
According to National Crime Records Bureau’s statistics, the greatest percent of these detainees spent up to three months in prison, but there were also 36.000 prisoners who were waiting for court ruling from one to two years. Besides great share of pre-trial detainees in the prison population, a high number of deaths behind bars represents the additional problem. While NCRB states that out of 1702 deaths in prisons in 2014, 1507 were contributed to natural causes, human rights organizations point that this statistics doesn’t reflect reality as many deaths that are the result of torture either go unreported or are attributed to natural causes.
4. Brazil
Prison population: 607.731
In last fifteen years, the prison population in Brazil has increased by 160 percent reaching over half a million inmates in 2014. The rise in the number of inmates was not followed by the increase of prison capacity which can host a little more than half of current prison population. Thus, together with Iran, Brazil has the most overcrowded prisons among all the countries on this list.
In October last year, Human Rights Watch published the report on Brazilian prisons titled “The state let evil take over”. According to the report, guards have little or no influence as prisoners are literally “keyholders”. They are given keys of pavilions and cells and the task to maintain the order behind bars. Keyholders exploit their power to sell drugs or place for sleep, using violence to impose their rule that goes intentionally unnoticed by prison authorities.
3. Russian Federation
Prison population: 642.444
The prison population has almost halved in last fifteen years in Russia. While in 2000 there was a little more than one million inmates, in 2014 their number were 642.444. Russia is the only country on this list that has not reached its prison capacity. According to latest available data from 2013, the occupancy rate is 94.2.
Notoriousness of Russian penal system dates back to mid eighteen century when Russian authorities started to send petty criminals and political opponents to the Siberia, country’s harshest place. Many famous Russians served their time in Siberia. Then, in the first half of 20th century, under Stalin regime, a new form of forced labor, Gulag, was established. While in modern Russia such extreme forms of incarnation no longer exist, imprisonment of those who are perceived as political opponents still takes place. In 2012 members of Pussy Riots were imprisoned after their performance in an Orthodox cathedral that was characterized as hooliganism. One of the group’s members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova described abuse, violence and exploitation in the prison in the open letter that Guardian published.
2. China
Prison population: 1.657.812
Officially, there were around 1.6 million inmates in China in 2014. However, it is possible that the number was much higher. According to Deputy Procurator-General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, there were more than 650,000 pre-trial detainees in 2009. If this was still the case in 2014, then the total prison population was over 2.3 million, which would put China on the first place of our list.
In the last decade, China has seen a sharp rise of the female prison population. While the number of male prisoners has increased by 10 percent, the number of women behind bars has grown up to 46 percent. One of the reasons behind the growth might be the fact that more women are committing non-violent crimes such as drug trafficking and financial frauds. As in other countries on this list, the prison population is exposed to abuse, torture, and forced labor in Chinese prisons.
1. America
Prison population: 2. 217.000
With more than 2.2 million prisoners, America ranks first among 11 countries with the highest prison population. Moreover, the US ranks as the second country by incarnation rate, which was 698 prisoners per 100.000 residents in 2013. The majority of the prison population is concentrated in state prisons, followed by local jails and federal prisons. Moreover, around 71.000 children were held in juvenile detention centers.
Prison Policy’s report warns that these numbers only partly depict the reality of prisons in the US. Yearly, around 12 million people circulate through local jails, and the majority of them are those who are waiting for a trial, while others are usually serving a sentence for minor offenses. At the same time around 15.000 children are imprisoned because of technical violations such as violation of parole. Finally, in federal prisons, there were 22.000 people who violated federal immigration laws and 34.000 waiting for deportation. Thus, high prison population in America doesn’t reflect the prevalence of crime as much as it shows the tendency of the justice system to criminalize minor offenses.
