As of February 2025, El Salvador had the highest prisoner rate worldwide, with over 1,600 prisoners per 100,000 of the national population. Cuba, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, and the United States, rounded out the top five countries with the highest rate of incarceration. Homicides in El Salvador Interestingly, El Salvador, which long had the highest global homicide rates, has dropped out of the top 20 after a high number of gang members have been incarcerated. A high number of the countries with the highest homicide rate are located in Latin America. Prisoners in the United StatesThe United States is home to the largest number of prisoners worldwide. More than 1.8 million people were incarcerated in the U.S. at the beginning of 2025. In China, the estimated prison population totaled 1.69 million people that year. Other nations had far fewer prisoners. The largest share of the U.S. prisoners in federal correctional facilities were of African-American origin. As of 2020, there were 345,500 black, non-Hispanic prisoners, compared to 327,300 white, non-Hispanic inmates. The U.S. states with the largest number of prisoners in 2022 were Texas, California, and Florida. Over 160,000 prisoners in state facilities were sentenced for rape or sexual assault, which was the most common cause of imprisonment. The second most common was murder, followed by aggravated or simple assault.

At the beginning of 2025, the United States had the highest number of incarcerated individuals worldwide, with around 1.8 million people in prison. China followed with around 100,000 fewer prisoners. Brazil followed in third. The incarceration problem in the U.S. The United States has an incredibly high number of incarcerated individuals. Therefore, the incarceration problem has become a widely contested issue, because it impacts disadvantaged people and minorities the most. Additionally, the prison system has become capitalized by outside corporations that fund prisons, but there is still a high cost to taxpayers. Furthermore, there has been an increase in the amount of private prisons that have been created. For-profit prison companies have come under scrutiny because of their lack of satisfactory staff and widespread lobbying. Violent offenses are the most common type of offense among prisoners in the U.S. Incarceration rates worldwide El Salvador had the highest rate of incarceration worldwide, at 1,659 prisoners per 100,000 residents as of February 2025. Cuba followed in second with 794 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants. The incarceration rate is a better measure to use when comparing countries than the total prison populations, which will naturally have the most populous countries topping the list.

The Central American nation with the highest prison population rate was El Salvador, with over 1,000 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Panama with 522 prisoners. The lowest prison population rate of the region was found in Guatemala, with 123 prisoners per 100,000 people.

Private Prison Service Market Outlook

The global private prison service market size was valued at approximately USD 8 billion in 2023 and is forecasted to reach USD 12.5 billion by 2032, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 4.5% during the forecast period. The growth of this market is driven by several factors, including increasing prison populations, government policies favoring privatization, and a focus on cost-efficiency and specialized services provided by private entities.

One of the primary growth factors of the private prison service market is the escalating prison population globally. Over the years, many countries have experienced a steady rise in incarceration rates due to stricter law enforcement policies and an increase in crime rates. This surge has led to overcrowded public prison facilities, prompting governments to seek alternatives to manage the burgeoning inmate numbers. Private prisons have emerged as a viable solution to this issue, providing additional capacity and thus driving market demand.

Another significant factor contributing to the growth of the private prison service market is the cost-efficiency and specialized services offered by private operators. Governments are increasingly outsourcing prison management to private entities to reduce operational costs and improve service quality. Private prisons often employ advanced technologies and management practices that lead to better resource utilization, enhanced security measures, and improved inmate rehabilitation programs. These factors make private prisons an attractive option for governments looking to manage prisons more effectively.

The increasing focus on rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates is also bolstering the private prison service market. Unlike traditional public prisons, many private facilities emphasize rehabilitation and education programs aimed at reducing recidivism rates. Private prison operators often provide comprehensive healthcare, vocational training, and educational programs tailored to the needs of inmates. These initiatives not only help in the personal development of inmates but also contribute to a safer society, which, in turn, drives the demand for private prison services.

From a regional perspective, North America holds the largest share in the global private prison service market, primarily driven by the United States, which has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. Government policies favoring privatization and the presence of major private prison operators further strengthen the market in this region. However, other regions such as Asia Pacific and Europe are also showing significant potential due to increasing crime rates and shifting governmental policies towards privatization.

Service Type Analysis

The private prison service market is segmented by service type into security, rehabilitation, healthcare, education, and others. The security segment holds the largest market share due to its critical role in maintaining order and safety within prison facilities. Private prison operators invest heavily in advanced security technologies such as surveillance systems, biometric access controls, and perimeter security solutions. These investments ensure a secure environment for both inmates and staff, thereby making security services a pivotal component of the private prison market.

The rehabilitation segment is gaining traction as governments and private operators recognize the importance of reducing recidivism rates. Rehabilitation services include a range of programs such as behavioral therapy, substance abuse treatment, and vocational training designed to help inmates reintegrate into society. With growing awareness about the social and economic benefits of rehabilitation, this segment is expected to see substantial growth in the coming years.

Healthcare services are another critical component of private prison services. Inmates often have complex health needs that require specialized medical care. Private prison operators provide comprehensive healthcare services, including primary care, mental health services, and emergency medical treatment. The healthcare segment is expected to grow significantly due to the increasing prevalence of chronic conditions and mental health issues among the incarcerated population.

Educational services are also an essential part of the private prison service market. These services aim to equip inmates with the knowledge and skills needed to secure employment upon release. Educational programs range

Overview

The Marshall Project, the nonprofit investigative newsroom dedicated to the U.S. criminal justice system, has partnered with The Associated Press to compile data on the prevalence of COVID-19 infection in prisons across the country. The Associated Press is sharing this data as the most comprehensive current national source of COVID-19 outbreaks in state and federal prisons.

Lawyers, criminal justice reform advocates and families of the incarcerated have worried about what was happening in prisons across the nation as coronavirus began to take hold in the communities outside. Data collected by The Marshall Project and AP shows that hundreds of thousands of prisoners, workers, correctional officers and staff have caught the illness as prisons became the center of some of the country’s largest outbreaks. And thousands of people — most of them incarcerated — have died.

In December, as COVID-19 cases spiked across the U.S., the news organizations also shared cumulative rates of infection among prison populations, to better gauge the total effects of the pandemic on prison populations. The analysis found that by mid-December, one in five state and federal prisoners in the United States had tested positive for the coronavirus -- a rate more than four times higher than the general population.

This data, which is updated weekly, is an effort to track how those people have been affected and where the crisis has hit the hardest.

Methodology and Caveats

The data tracks the number of COVID-19 tests administered to people incarcerated in all state and federal prisons, as well as the staff in those facilities. It is collected on a weekly basis by Marshall Project and AP reporters who contact each prison agency directly and verify published figures with officials.

Each week, the reporters ask every prison agency for the total number of coronavirus tests administered to its staff members and prisoners, the cumulative number who tested positive among staff and prisoners, and the numbers of deaths for each group.

The time series data is aggregated to the system level; there is one record for each prison agency on each date of collection. Not all departments could provide data for the exact date requested, and the data indicates the date for the figures.

To estimate the rate of infection among prisoners, we collected population data for each prison system before the pandemic, roughly in mid-March, in April, June, July, August, September and October. Beginning the week of July 28, we updated all prisoner population numbers, reflecting the number of incarcerated adults in state or federal prisons. Prior to that, population figures may have included additional populations, such as prisoners housed in other facilities, which were not captured in our COVID-19 data. In states with unified prison and jail systems, we include both detainees awaiting trial and sentenced prisoners.

To estimate the rate of infection among prison employees, we collected staffing numbers for each system. Where current data was not publicly available, we acquired other numbers through our reporting, including calling agencies or from state budget documents. In six states, we were unable to find recent staffing figures: Alaska, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, Utah.

To calculate the cumulative COVID-19 impact on prisoner and prison worker populations, we aggregated prisoner and staff COVID case and death data up through Dec. 15. Because population snapshots do not account for movement in and out of prisons since March, and because many systems have significantly slowed the number of new people being sent to prison, it’s difficult to estimate the total number of people who have been held in a state system since March. To be conservative, we calculated our rates of infection using the largest prisoner population snapshots we had during this time period.

As with all COVID-19 data, our understanding of the spread and impact of the virus is limited by the availability of testing. Epidemiology and public health experts say that aside from a few states that have recently begun aggressively testing in prisons, it is likely that there are more cases of COVID-19 circulating undetected in facilities. Sixteen prison systems, including the Federal Bureau of Prisons, would not release information about how many prisoners they are testing.

Corrections departments in Indiana, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota and Wisconsin report coronavirus testing and case data for juvenile facilities; West Virginia reports figures for juvenile facilities and jails. For consistency of comparison with other state prison systems, we removed those facilities from our data that had been included prior to July 28. For these states we have also removed staff data. Similarly, Pennsylvania’s coronavirus data includes testing and cases for those who have been released on parole. We removed these tests and cases for prisoners from the data prior to July 28. The staff cases remain.

About the Data

There are four tables in this data:

• covid_prison_cases.csv contains weekly time series data on tests, infections and deaths in prisons. The first dates in the table are on March 26. Any questions that a prison agency could not or would not answer are left blank.

• prison_populations.csv contains snapshots of the population of people incarcerated in each of these prison systems for whom data on COVID testing and cases are available. This varies by state and may not always be the entire number of people incarcerated in each system. In some states, it may include other populations, such as those on parole or held in state-run jails. This data is primarily for use in calculating rates of testing and infection, and we would not recommend using these numbers to compare the change in how many people are being held in each prison system.

• staff_populations.csv contains a one-time, recent snapshot of the headcount of workers for each prison agency, collected as close to April 15 as possible.

• covid_prison_rates.csv contains the rates of cases and deaths for prisoners. There is one row for every state and federal prison system and an additional row with the National totals.

Queries

The Associated Press and The Marshall Project have created several queries to help you use this data:

Get your state's prison COVID data: Provides each week's data from just your state and calculates a cases-per-100000-prisoners rate, a deaths-per-100000-prisoners rate, a cases-per-100000-workers rate and a deaths-per-100000-workers rate here

Rank all systems' most recent data by cases per 100,000 prisoners here

Find what percentage of your state's total cases and deaths -- as reported by Johns Hopkins University -- occurred within the prison system here

Attribution

In stories, attribute this data to: “According to an analysis of state prison cases by The Marshall Project, a nonprofit investigative newsroom dedicated to the U.S. criminal justice system, and The Associated Press.”

Contributors

Many reporters and editors at The Marshall Project and The Associated Press contributed to this data, including: Katie Park, Tom Meagher, Weihua Li, Gabe Isman, Cary Aspinwall, Keri Blakinger, Jake Bleiberg, Andrew R. Calderón, Maurice Chammah, Andrew DeMillo, Eli Hager, Jamiles Lartey, Claudia Lauer, Nicole Lewis, Humera Lodhi, Colleen Long, Joseph Neff, Michelle Pitcher, Alysia Santo, Beth Schwartzapfel, Damini Sharma, Colleen Slevin, Christie Thompson, Abbie VanSickle, Adria Watson, Andrew Welsh-Huggins.

Questions

If you have questions about the data, please email The Marshall Project at info+covidtracker@themarshallproject.org or file a Github issue.

To learn more about AP's data journalism capabilities for publishers, corporations and financial institutions, go here or email kromano@ap.org.

As of December 2022, there was a total of 139,631 prisoners in the state of Texas, the most out of any state. California, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio rounded out the top five states with the most prisoners in the United States.

The Latin America and Caribbean nation with the highest prison population rate in 2024 was El Salvador, with 1.086 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, the only country to achieve four digits, followed by Cuba with 794 prisoners. Guatemala and Haiti Jamaica had the lowest prison population rates, 123 and 63 per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively.

The average for 2017 based on 19 countries was 250 prisoners per 100,000 people. The highest value was in El Salvador: 601 prisoners per 100,000 people and the lowest value was in Haiti: 81 prisoners per 100,000 people. The indicator is available from 2002 to 2017. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2022, about 1,826 Black men per 100,000 residents were imprisoned in the United States. This rate was much lower for Black women, at 64 per 100,000 residents. The overall imprisonment rate in 2022 stood at 355 per 100,000 Americans.

In 2023 Turkey had the highest incarceration rate among European countries, at 408 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Georgia, which had an incarceration of 256. The country with the lowest incarceration rate in this year was Liechtenstein, which had 15 people in prison for every 100,000 inhabitants. Germany had one of the lowest rates of 69 when compared with other major European countries such as France and England & Wales, which had rates of 106 and 136 respectively. The Russian Federation has in previous years been the country with the highest incarceration rate in the Council of Europe's data, however, as the country was removed as a member of the council in 2022 due to their invasion of Ukraine, data for Russia is no longer available.

Correctional System Market Outlook

The global correctional system market size was valued at approximately USD 5.8 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 10.6 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9% from 2024 to 2032. This growth is primarily driven by technological advancements and the increasing need for efficient prison management systems. The adoption of innovative technologies such as AI, IoT, and cloud computing within correctional facilities is expected to streamline operations, enhance security measures, and improve rehabilitation programs, thus contributing to market expansion.

One of the primary factors fueling the growth of the correctional system market is the rising emphasis on enhancing operational efficiency and security within correctional facilities. As prison populations continue to grow, there is an increased need for systems that can manage inmate information, monitor activities, and ensure compliance with regulations. Advanced software solutions that offer real-time data analytics and automation are becoming essential tools for governmental agencies and private operators alike. Furthermore, the integration of AI and machine learning technologies is aiding in predictive analytics, helping authorities to anticipate and prevent potential security breaches.

Another significant growth factor is the increasing focus on rehabilitation and community corrections programs. Modern correctional systems are gradually shifting from punitive approaches to rehabilitative and restorative justice models. This shift necessitates the implementation of comprehensive rehabilitation programs that can effectively address the psychological, educational, and vocational needs of inmates. Consequently, there is a growing demand for software and services designed to manage these programs, track progress, and measure outcomes. Additionally, community corrections, which involve supervised probation and parole, are gaining traction, requiring robust systems to manage and monitor individuals outside traditional prison environments.

The expansion of cloud-based solutions is also playing a pivotal role in driving market growth. Cloud deployment offers numerous advantages, including cost-effectiveness, scalability, and ease of access to data from multiple locations. This is particularly beneficial for large-scale correctional facilities and government agencies that manage multiple prisons. By leveraging cloud technology, these institutions can ensure seamless communication, data sharing, and real-time updates across different facilities. Moreover, the shift towards cloud-based solutions is supported by advancements in data security measures, which are crucial for handling sensitive inmate information.

Regionally, North America holds a significant share of the correctional system market, driven by substantial investments in prison infrastructure and technology adoption. The United States, in particular, is a major contributor due to its large prison population and stringent regulatory requirements. Europe follows closely, with countries like the UK, Germany, and France focusing on modernizing their correctional facilities and enhancing rehabilitation efforts. The Asia Pacific region is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period, attributed to growing government initiatives to improve prison management and the increasing adoption of advanced technologies in countries like China, India, and Japan.

Component Analysis

In the correctional system market, the component segmentation involves hardware, software, and services. Each of these components plays a critical role in enhancing the efficiency and security of correctional facilities. The hardware segment includes surveillance systems, biometric devices, and communication systems. Surveillance systems, such as CCTV cameras and motion detectors, are essential for maintaining security within prisons. Biometric devices, including fingerprint scanners and facial recognition systems, are increasingly being adopted to ensure accurate identification and reduce the risk of impersonation. Communication systems, such as inmate telephone services and video conferencing, facilitate secure communication between inmates and their families, legal representatives, and prison staff.

The software segment encompasses management software, inmate tracking systems, and rehabilitation management software. Management software is designed to streamline various administrative tasks, such as inmate record-keeping, incident reporting, and resource allocation. Inmate tracking systems utilize tec

Iceland was the most peaceful country in the world in 2024 with an index value of 1.1. Ireland, Austria, and New Zealand followed behind.What is the Global Peace Index? The Global Peace Index is an effort by the Institute for Economics and Peace to measure the degree of peacefulness in countries across the world and rank them accordingly. The first list was created in 2007 and has since then been published annually. The index includes a number of indicators relating to both domestic and international peacefulness. International indicators In regards to international affairs the majority of indicators relate to involvement in military conflict or the efforts of the state in question to resolve conflict and ensure the safety of those affected. For example those states that give more financial support to UN peacekeeping missions are considered to be more peaceful while those who have a higher military expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) are considered to be less peaceful. The United States never reached the top 20 of the list, in part due to it having a high level of military spending as a percentage of GDP. Domestic factors Domestic indicators focus on both the amount of violence and crime in addition to incarceration rates. Again, the United States fails to reach levels akin to other countries. The country’s incarceration rates are significantly higher than in other OEDC countries. Moreover, the number of deaths from gun violence also contributes to the relatively low peacefulness ranking of the United States.

Prison Management Systems Market Outlook

The global prison management systems market size is projected to grow significantly from USD 2.5 billion in 2023 to USD 5.6 billion by 2032, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.3%. This growth is driven by the increasing need for efficient management of prison facilities and the rising adoption of advanced technologies in correctional facilities worldwide. Factors such as heightened security concerns, the increasing inmate population, and the demand for improved operational efficiency are key contributors to the market's expansion.

One of the primary growth factors for the prison management systems market is the rising inmate population globally. Overcrowding in prisons has become a critical issue, necessitating the adoption of advanced management systems to ensure efficient administration and resource allocation. These systems help in streamlining various prison operations, such as inmate tracking, facility management, and administrative tasks, thereby reducing the burden on prison staff and enhancing overall efficiency. Additionally, governments worldwide are increasingly investing in modernizing prison infrastructure, further propelling the market's growth.

Another significant growth driver is the increasing focus on enhancing security within correctional facilities. With rising threats of prison breaks, contraband smuggling, and violence within prisons, there is a growing need for robust security management solutions. Prison management systems equipped with advanced security features, such as surveillance cameras, biometric identification, and automated access control, are being widely adopted to ensure the safety and security of inmates and prison staff. These systems not only help in monitoring and controlling prison activities but also provide real-time data and analytics for better decision-making.

The integration of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud computing, is also playing a crucial role in the growth of the prison management systems market. AI-powered analytics and machine learning algorithms enable predictive analysis and proactive management of prison operations, while IoT devices facilitate real-time monitoring and control of various prison activities. Cloud-based prison management systems offer scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, making them an attractive option for correctional facilities looking to modernize their operations. These technological advancements are expected to drive the market's growth further in the coming years.

In the realm of correctional facility management, the Patrol Management System emerges as a pivotal component in ensuring the safety and security of both inmates and staff. These systems are designed to streamline the process of monitoring and managing patrol activities within prison environments. By providing real-time data and analytics, a Patrol Management System enhances the efficiency of security operations, allowing for better resource allocation and quicker response times to incidents. This technological advancement is becoming increasingly essential as correctional facilities seek to maintain high standards of security while managing growing inmate populations. The integration of such systems not only aids in preventing security breaches but also supports the overall objective of creating a safer correctional environment.

Regionally, North America is expected to dominate the prison management systems market during the forecast period, owing to the high adoption rate of advanced technologies and substantial government investments in prison infrastructure. The presence of major market players and the increasing focus on prison reforms are further contributing to the market's growth in this region. Europe is anticipated to follow North America in terms of market share, driven by stringent regulations and policies aimed at improving prison management and security. The Asia Pacific region is projected to witness significant growth, primarily due to the increasing number of prison facilities and the rising focus on enhancing prison infrastructure.

Component Analysis

The prison management systems market is segmented by component into software, hardware, and services. The software segment is expected to hold the largest market share during the forecast period, driven by the increasing demand for advanced prison management software solutions. Th

The South American nation with the highest prison population rate in 2024 was Uruguay, with 449 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Brazil, with 389 prisoners. The country in South America with the lowest prison population rate was Ecuador, with 179 per 100,000 persons.

Hong Kong had the largest share of female prisoners as of April 2025, with over ** percent of its detainees being women. Macau had the second-highest rate at over ** percent. In the United States, *** percent of inmates were women.

Due to a hardening of penal sensibilities and more stringent sentencing practices (mainly as a result of the 2003 Criminal Justice Act), a growing number of prisoners are serving extremely long life sentences from an early age. The UK has more life-sentenced prisoners per 100,000 of population than any other country in Europe (including Russia), and a higher proportion of life sentenced prisoners within its total sentenced prison population (10%) than any other European country or the US. The average minimum sentence length for mandatory life sentences has risen significantly in recent years. By the end of December 2018, there were 3,624 prisoners serving life sentences with tariffs of 10-20 years, and 1,862 with tariffs of more than twenty years (Ministry of Justice, 2019).

These prisoners have to endure and adapt to periods inside prison that are often longer than their lives as free citizens, while maturing into adulthood in an environment that does not allow, or is hardly conducive to, normal adult experiences. Following on from an earlier study of long-term imprisonment (grant: ES/J007935/1), undertaken from 2011-2014, this research constituted an unprecedented opportunity to enhance our understanding of the dynamics and effects of long-term confinement. Its primary aims were, first, to meet Kazemian and Travis's (2015) call for longitudinal insight into the experience, dynamics and effects of long-term confinement, including the ways in which the lives, priorities and relationships of people serving life sentences change over time; second, to focus more closely on some of the key themes and findings from our original study, in particular, the ways in which individuals engage reflexively with their sentence, their index offence and their sense of self; and, third, to explore the concept of the 'depth of imprisonment' - put simply, the relationship and polarity between the prison and the outside world - that is of particular relevance for this group of prisoners.

Interviews were undertaken, and surveys re-administered, with as many of our original sample as possible. Overall, this amounted to 120 of 146 initial participants, 100 in prison (out of 110 still in custody when fieldwork began) and 20 (out of 29) who had been released into the community on life licence.

The research offers insight into the nature and impact of long-term imprisonment, at a time when practitioners, pressure groups and policymakers are particularly interested in the custodial and post-custodial experiences of this expanding group. It contributes significantly to a sparse and outdated research literature on the experiences of life-sentenced prisoners, serving extremely long sentences. In doing so, it addresses fundamental questions about identity, coping and humanity under intense duress, and about the lived outcomes of the most extreme form of state punishment.

Due to a hardening of penal sensibilities and more stringent sentencing practices (mainly as a result of the 2003 Criminal Justice Act), a growing number of prisoners are serving extremely long sentences from an early age. The UK has more life-sentenced prisoners per 100,000 of population than any other country in Europe (including Russia), and a higher proportion of life sentenced prisoners within its total sentenced prison population (10%) than any other European country or the US. The average minimum sentence length for mandatory life sentences has risen significantly in recent years. By the end of December 2018, there were 3,624 prisoners serving life sentences with tariffs of 10-20 years, and 1,862 with tariffs of more than twenty years (Ministry of Justice, 2019).

These prisoners have to endure and adapt to periods inside prison that are often longer than their lives as free citizens, while maturing into adulthood in an environment that does not allow, or is hardly conducive to, normal adult experiences. Following on from an earlier study of long-term imprisonment (grant: ES/J007935/1), undertaken from 2011-2014, this research constituted an unprecedented opportunity to very significantly enhance our understanding of the dynamics and effects of long-term confinement. Its primary aims were, first, to meet Kazemian and Travis's (2015) call for longitudinal insight into the experience, dynamics and effects of long-term confinement, including the ways in which the lives, priorities and relationships of people serving life sentences change over time; second, to focus more closely on some of the key themes and findings from our original study, in particular, the ways in which individuals engage reflexively with their sentence, their index offence and their sense of self; and, third, to explore the concept of the 'depth of imprisonment' - put simply, the relationship and polarity between the prison and the outside world - that is of particular relevance for this group of prisoners.

Interviews were undertaken, and surveys re-administered, with as many of our...

The Central American nation with the highest prison occupancy rate, as of April 2025, was Guatemala, when the level stood at almost 300 percent of its official capacity. Nicaragua followed with 177.6 percent of occupancy level. The lowest prison occupancy rate was found in Belize, which, with 67 percent, was the only country whose prison system was not overcrowded. That year, El Salvador had the highest prison population rate in Central America.

On March 16th 2025, Trump's administration deported 238 alleged members of the Venezuela criminal gang Tren de Aragua to the Terrorism Confinement Center (or CECOT) prison in El Salvador. According to official data, the United States will pay around six million U.S. dollars to El Salvador to imprison around 300 deportees from the U.S. for one year. Crime in El Salvador Nayib Bukele is one of the most beloved world leaders, with an approval rate of 93 percent as of July 2024, being crowned with the highest in Latin America. This comes not without a reason, as El Salvador used to be constantly ranked as one of the most violent countries globally due to gang violence, specifically, La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Mara Barrio-18. After a particularly violent couple of days in March 2022, Bukele’s administration called for an Emergency state, with massive incarceration of alleged gang members. The Central American country now ranks with the lowest homicide rate in the region. One of the largest prisons in the world, not without controversy El Salvador ranks by far as the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world. As of February 2025, El Salvador's rate was 1,659 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, more than double when compared to Cuba – which ranks as the second place. The massive incarceration and the measures taken during the emergency state, various countries and international observers called out El Salvador for an approach lacking human rights. As the gang members were heavily mistreated and later on some of them, or their families, were charged 170 US dollars a month for food, clothing, and other services. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of such measures and with almost 90 percent of Salvadoreans feeling safer after the emergency state, Bukele secured a second office term in 2024 with more than 80 percent of the votes.

Mexico had nearly 233,300 prisoners as of December 2023, around 7,200 prisoners more than the prior year. The volume of imprisoned people in the country followed an increasing trend from 2018 to 2023. Prison population That figure places Mexico among the countries with the largest number of prisoners in the world. However, when taking into account incarceration rates, that is, the number of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, Mexico falls out of the ranking and is, actually, one of the Latin American and Caribbean countries with the lowest rates, exceeded by far by countries like El Salvador and Cuba, which register four times the prison population rate of Mexico.People aged 30 to 39 years made up for the largest share of prisoners in Mexico. However, the share of people deprived of liberty whose age ranged from 18 to 29 years was significantly largest in the case of women, with 32.1 percent of female prisoners pertaining to such age group, while in the case of men it fell to 25.1 percent. Regarding female inmates, approximately a tenth have been pregnant while being in jail. Furthermore, theft was the most commonly committed crime by women in Mexican states' penitentiary centers in 2022, followed by kidnapping and homicide. Preventive prison The main reason for the rapid growth of prison population in Mexico in recent years is the 2019 reform of the article 19 of the Constitution, which has led to the spread of pretrial detention. Pretrial detention is a measure that leads to the imprisonment of people automatically while they are still being investigated, without having been sentenced, and can last up to two years. The reform allowed for automatic preventive imprisonment for a wider range of crimes than before, with the new list including fuel theft (huachicoleo) and burglary, among others. This affects particularly vulnerable people from poor backgrounds, with low education and who commit petty crimes. As of December 2020, 78.6 percent of pre-trial detainees for robbery in Mexico had not been sentenced, which means that less than a fourth of people in jail for robbery had been found guilty in court. The country had an even higher share of unsentenced prisoners for drug trafficking, with 87.8 percent of people being in preventive detention without charge.. One of the reasons behind the high share of prisoners awaiting sentence is the large number of simultaneous cases that public defenders have to attend to. Depending on the Mexican state in which someone is being prosecuted, a public defender can have up to an average of 336.9 simultaneous cases to defend.

This statistic shows U.S. prison chaplains estimations of the percentage of inmates belonging to different organized faiths and religions as of 2011. Chaplains surveyed reported that on average 50.6 percent of inmates were of protestant faiths.

Additional information on religion in United States prisons

The religious affiliation of inmates in the United States, the country with most prisoners per head globally, is reasonably similar to the religious affiliations of the society overall. That said, the proportion of non-religious inmates and those declining to express their religious affiliation is smaller than the overall proportion. In contrast the number of Muslim inmates is disproportionately large in comparison with wider society. As a result a sizable share of prison chaplains identity as Muslim, catering to the preferences of the Muslim prison population.

Following the September 11, 2001 World Trade Centre attacks and the subsequent War on Terror launched by George W. Bush, religious extremism has been a target of public debate and policy. The debate has stretched into prisons particularly with the United States prison on Guantanamo Bay holding a number of suspected terrorists related to religious extremism. In turn, fears have been raised that prisons have become a hotbed for religious extremism.

Critics have argued that religious extremism has provided an unwarranted justification for the conviction of Muslims. Regardless of the supposed reason for their imprisonment, this disproportionate number presents a problem for United States policy makers.