World Prison Brief · 216 jurisdictions · per 100,000 population
Incarceration rate — number of prisoners per 100,000 population. A ratio, never addable.
World Prison Brief, 216 jurisdictions.
Actual distribution: median around 145, a handful of highly punitive jurisdictions above 600.
El Salvador (1,659 prisoners per 100,000 people) shows by far the world's highest incarceration rate — more than double the second-placed Cuba (794) — a direct consequence of the anti-gang state of emergency declared in 2022, which more than tripled the country's prison population within a few years.