Section IV: Global Comparisons

Crime and incarceration around the world:

Incarceration

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in the United States : 700

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Russia : 665

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Mexico : 150

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Canada : 105

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Demark : 60

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Finland : 50

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Iceland : 30

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Norway : 60

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Sweden : 65

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in England and Wales : 125

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Ireland : 80

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Italy : 95

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in France : 80

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Germany : 95

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Portugal : 130

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Estonia : 330

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Latvia : 355

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Japan : 45

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Saudi Arabia : 45

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in China : 110

Number of prisoners per 100,000 population in Australia : 110

This page is an excerpt from The Prison Index: Taking the Pulse of the Crime Control Industry (April 2003) by Peter Wagner, published by the Western Prison Project and the Prison Policy Initiative.

Footnotes