Countries by Prison Population Rate 2024

Source: Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research

Countries by Prison Population Rate 2024

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Key Findings

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El Salvador leads in Prisoners Per 100,000 Population with 1,086 in 2024.

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Average Prisoners Per 100,000 Population in 2024: 484 · median: 467.

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Gap in 2024: El Salvador is 28.6× larger than Iceland.

About This Dataset

Countries by Prison Population Rate 2024

Countries ranked by the number of prisoners per 100,000 of national population in 2024, according to the World Prison Brief and Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research. The United States incarcerates more people per capita than any other country in the world — with approximately 630 prisoners per 100,000 people, the US prison population exceeds 2 million individuals, a consequence of mandatory minimum sentencing, the war on drugs, and structural inequalities in the justice system that have been debated and critiqued across the political spectrum.

Analysis

El Salvador (1,086), Cuba (794) and United States (630) take the top three in Prisoners Per 100,000 Population in 2024. Values run from 1,086 at the top to 38 at the bottom, a spread of 1,048. First and second are separated by 292, so the leader sits inside the field rather than apart from it. Only 4 of the 8 reach even half the leader's figure (543 or more).

Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

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Data Points

8 categories · 1 year

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Top Value

1,086

El Salvador

Prisoners Per 100,000 Population · 2024

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Metrics

Prisoners Per 100,000 Population

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Period

2024

Single year snapshot

Methodology & source

Data source: Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research
Coverage: 8 entities · 2024 · 8 observations
Measure: Prisoners Per 100,000 Population
Last updated: 6 September 2026
Compiled by: The ANYSTAT team, from the source above

How the figures are calculated

Values use the measure and unit named on this page. Consult the dataset description and cited source for coverage, definitions and any unit conversions. Displayed values may be rounded for readability.
Entities are ranked highest-first on their value in 2024.

Rankings & Full Data

8 records · Prisoners Per 100,000 Population · ranked by 2024

✓ 8 sourced

#	Category	2024
🥇	El Salvador	1,086
🥈	Cuba	794
🥉	United States	630
4	Turkmenistan	552
5	Brazil	381
6	Russia	339
7	Finland	51
8	Iceland	38

Data Sources & References

All external sources cited in this dataset

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States Visit ↗

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_El_Salvador Visit ↗

3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_Cuba Visit ↗

4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_by_country Visit ↗

5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_Russia Visit ↗

6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_Brazil Visit ↗

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APA

ANYSTAT. (2026). Countries by Prison Population Rate 2024 [Data set]. Data: Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research. https://anystat.ai/stats/396/countries-by-prison-population-rate-2024

MLA

"Countries by Prison Population Rate 2024." ANYSTAT, 6 Sep. 2026, https://anystat.ai/stats/396/countries-by-prison-population-rate-2024.

Link for your website

<a href="https://anystat.ai/stats/396/countries-by-prison-population-rate-2024">Countries by Prison Population Rate 2024</a> (ANYSTAT)

Countries by Prison Population Rate 2024