The prisoners are lined up in this list of the 11 countries with the highest rates of incarceration in the world. Prisons have become a necessary structure in the safe society. In order to avoid having dangerous people out in the streets, they had to be contained. This has also reduced the lawlessness of people because they’ve gained a fear of being put in jail. However, even with prisons, many crimes are still done on a daily basis. Crimes can come from a variety of reasons, desperation, need, violence, and craziness among other things.
In order to accurately portray this list, we again have to consider the number of people incarcerated per capita. We list down how many people are incarcerated per 100,000 in the population. This ranking levels the field as it accounts for percentages and not only raw numbers. Criminals can be dangerous as well as the places they frequent. Some of these places are listed in The 10 Most Dangerous Places in the World.
What countries do you think have a high rate of incarceration? Some of the countries here may not be ones you are aware of. A high incarceration rate can mean either of two things, either there is a high crime rate or the country is just very good at catching criminals. Let’s go to the first country in this list:
11. Thailand
Incarceration rate – 435
With a high incarceration rate in Thailand, prisons are overcrowded. Inmates do not have beds and often sleep together on the floor inside small cells. Meal times are also very limited. You can often find 60 prisoners side-by-side inside a cell. The last execution in Thailand was done in the year 2002.
10. Russian Federation
Incarceration rate – 470
Russia has over 1.2 million prisoners in over 800 prisons. It is estimated that 1 out of every 4 adult men in Russia has been put in prison. Like many prisons in the world, they suffer from hunger, bad prison conditions and diseases. Interestingly, most of the prisoners in Russia aren’t really convicted criminals but homeless people.
9. Rwanda
Incarceration rate – 492
Even though they only have 14 prisons in the country, their incarceration rate rivals even that of Russia. Many of the incarcerated peoplr are actually waiting for a trial. Some have been waiting for a trial for around 1 to 2 decades now.
8. Belize
Incarceration rate – 495
Much like Rwanda, most of the prison population in Belize are waiting for a trial. A good portion of the people convicted come from crimes of child abuse or neglect. Belize’s prison population has been stable for a few years now. Many suspect that many others are avoiding incarceration using bribes.
7. Cuba
Incarceration rate – 510
The prisons in Cuba contain about 70-100,000 prisoners each. Many inmates call their prison conditions inhumane. Bad living conditions, lack of food and water, sicknesses are a few of the many problems that have been pointed out. Many human rights organizations are questioning Cuba’s handling of the prison system since they have not said anything about improving those conditions any time soon.
6. Barbados
Incarceration rate – 529
Barbados has a high incarceration rate because of their low population number. Despite their prisoners being some of the most dangerous men in the world, a lot of them have actually complained that the prison system in Barbados offers them no chance even if they are willing to reform.
There are more countries to mention in the continuation of this list of 11 countries with the highest rates of incarceration in the world.
5. US Virgin Islands
Incarceration rate – 535
The incarceration rate in the Virgin Islands is very high due to its small population. Though many of the Caribbean states have been put under pressure because of overcrowding in prisons, this is not the case for the United States’ owned Virgin Islands.
4. Anguilla
Incarceration rate – 543
Anguilla only has a small population rate and a very high number of incarcerated among them. Anguilla has been known to be very firm when it comes to incarceration. The cost to incarcerate one prisoner is even higher than the average citizen’s tax.
Anna Jedynak/Shutterstock.com
3. St Kitts and Nevis
Incarceration rate – 611
St Kitts and Nevis’ incarceration rate is so high that it triples the world average in numbers. Crime rates are high in some areas and are mostly done by local gangs. Their prison system separates men, women and juveniles.
2. United States
Incarceration Rate – 707
For the large population of the entire country, the United States comes second on this list having 707 people incarcerated per 100,000. One of the main reasons for the high incarceration rate is because the US uses prisons as their main form of punishment and rehabilitation.
1. Seychelles
Incarceration rate – 868
For a population that’s less than 100,000, the incarceration rate in Seychelles is definitely high. The honeymoon destination is very vigilant when capturing criminals. A significant number of the incarcerated in Seychelles are actually Somali pirates captured and imprisoned far from their home.
That is it for our list of the 11 countries with the highest rates of incarceration in the world. These rates are usually stable so don’t expect them to change significantly in the coming years.
