U.S. Incarceration Rate Among World's Highest 🗝️

What We're Showing

This graphic shows the countries with the highest and lowest incarceration rates worldwide, based on data from the Prison Policy Initiative.

Key Takeaways

• El Salvador, known as the “prison capital of the world”, has the highest incarceration rate globally, at 1,086 per 100,000 people.
• The U.S. incarceration rate is 614 per 100,000 people, the fourth-highest worldwide.
• By contrast, Japan has one of the world’s lowest rates at 36 per 100,000 inhabitants.