World Prison Population List
(tenth edition)
Roy Walmsley

Introduction
This tenth edition of the World Prison Population
List gives details of the number of prisoners held
in 222 independent countries and dependent
territories. It shows the differences in the level of
imprisonment across the world and makes possible
an estimate of the world prison population total. The
information is the latest available at the beginning of
October 2013.
The first five editions of the List were published by
the Research and Statistics Directorate of the UK
Home Office; this is the fifth to be published by
the International Centre for Prison Studies and it
complements the information which ICPS already
publishes and updates monthly on the World Prison
Brief section of its website www.prisonstudies.org.
The World Prison Population List is compiled from
a variety of sources. In almost all cases the original
source is the national prison administration of the
country concerned, or else the Ministry responsible
for the prison administration. Most figures relate to
dates between September 2011 and September
2013. Since prison population rates (per 100,000 of
the national population) are based on estimates of
the national population they should not be regarded
as precise. In order to compare prison population
rates in different regions of the world median rates
have been used because they minimise the effect of
countries with rates that are untypically high or low.
A number of points need to be noted. Figures are
not complete, notably for China, and they are not
available for Eritrea, Guinea Bissau, Somalia and
North Korea (D.P.R.K.). Again, the information does
not relate to the same date. Comparability is further
compromised by different practice in different
countries, for example with regard to whether all
pre-trial detainees and juveniles are held under
the authority of the prison administration, and also
whether the prison administration is responsible
for psychiatrically ill offenders and offenders being
detained for treatment for alcoholism and drug
addiction. People held in a form of custody which is
not under the authority of the prison administration
are usually omitted from official national totals.
It is hoped that this edition of the World Prison
Population List will be found useful by those who are
studying the use of imprisonment world-wide or are
interested in variations in criminal justice practice. The
data may prompt fresh thought among policy-makers
and other criminal justice experts about the size of the
prison population in their country, given the high costs
and disputed efficacy of imprisonment.

Key points
CC More than 10.2 million people are held in penal
institutions throughout the world, mostly as pre-trial
detainees/remand prisoners or as sentenced prisoners.
Almost half of these are in the United States (2.24m),
Russia (0.68m) or China (1.64m sentenced prisoners). In
addition at least 650,000 are reported to be in pre-trial
or ‘administrative’ detention in China and 150,000 in
North Korea (D.P.R.K.); if these were included the world
total would be more than 11 million.
CC The United States has the highest prison population rate
in the world, 716 per 100,000 of the national population,
followed by St Kitts & Nevis (714), Seychelles (709), U.S.
Virgin Is. (539), Barbados (521), Cuba (510), Rwanda
(492), Anguilla – U.K. (487), Belize (476), Russian
Federation (475), British Virgin Is. (460) and Sint Maarten
– Netherlands (458).
CC However, more than half of countries and territories
(54%) have rates below 150 per 100,000.
CC The world population at the beginning of 2013 was
about 7.1 billion (from United Nations figures); set
against the world prison population of 10.2 million this
produces a world prison population rate of 144 per
100,000 (155 per 100,000 if set against a world prison
population of 11 million).
CC Prison population rates vary considerably between
different regions of the world, and between different
parts of the same continent. For example:
•• in Africa the median rate for western African countries
is 46 whereas for southern African countries it is 205;
•• in the Americas the median rate for south American
countries is 202 whereas for Caribbean countries it is
376;
•• in Asia the median rate for south central Asian
countries (mainly the Indian sub-continent) is 62
whereas for eastern Asian countries it is 159.5;
•• in Europe the median rate for western European
countries is 98 whereas for the countries spanning
Europe and Asia (e.g. Russia & Turkey) it is 225.
•• in Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand) the
median rate is 151.
CC Prison populations are growing in all five continents. In
the 15 years since the first edition of the World Prison
Population List the estimated world prison population
has increased by some 25-30% but at the same time
the world population has risen by over 20%. The world
prison population rate has risen by about 6% from 136 per
100,000 of the world population to the current rate of 144.

1

World Prison Population List (tenth edition)
Table 1 AFRICA
	
	
	

Prison population total	
Date	
(no. in penal institutions 		
incl. pre-trial detainees)		

Estimated	
national	
population	

Prison population	
rate (per 100,000 of	
national population)	

Source of
prison population
total

Northern Africa
60,000	
c. 66,000	
5,328	
72,000	
20,000	
21,300	

Algeria	
Egypt	
Libya	
Morocco	
Sudan	
Tunisia	

5/13	36.96m	
162	
/11	82.5m	 c. 80	
24/1/13	6.55m	
81	
1/1/13	32.75m	
220	
/11	36.0m	
56	
/12	
10.7m	
199	

NPA
US State Dep’t human rights report
NPA
NPA
US State Dep’t human rights report
NPA

Western Africa					
Benin	
Burkina Faso	
Cape Verde	
Côte d’Ivoire	
Gambia	
Ghana	
Guinea (Conakry)	
Liberia	
Mali	
Mauritania	
Niger	
Nigeria	
Senegal	
Sierra Leone	
Togo	

6,908
4,899	
1,348	
7,086	
c. 1,000	
14,021	
c. 2,600	
1,930	
5,817	
1,602	
6,899	
54,144	
8,428	
3,281	
4,060	

	

/10	9.2m	 75	
31/12/12	17.68m	
28	
/12	504,000	
267	
31/12/12	20.8m	
34	
31/12/12	1.8m	c. 56	
26/8/13	26.18m	
54	
/12	10.5m	 c. 25	
/12	4.2m	 46	
28/9/11	15.94m	
36	
/12	3.6m	 45	
/12	16.6m	
42	
31/5/13	169.9m	
32	
21/12/12	13.25m	
64	
18/9/13	6.28m	
52	
20/12/12	6.35m	
64	

Ombudsman’s report, Benin
Ministry of Justice
US State Dep’t human rights report
US State Dep’t human rights report
US State Dep’t human rights report
NPA
US State Dep’t human rights report
NPA
US State Dep’t human rights report
Ministry of Justice
US State Dep’t human rights report
NPA
NPA
NPA
US State Dep’t human rights report

Central Africa					
Angola	
Cameroon	
Central African Rep. 	
Chad	
Congo (Brazzaville)	
Dem. Rep. of Congo	
Equatorial Guinea	
Gabon	
Sao Tome e Principe	
South Sudan	

21,634	
24,000	
845	
4,831	
c. 1,300	
c.22,000	
c. 650	
c. 2,750	
217	
c. 7,000	

6/13	20.64m	
105	
12/11	20.2m	 119	
11/11	
4.5m	
19	
25/1/12	11.7m	
41	
31/12/12	4.25m	 c. 31	
/10	66.0m	 c. 33	
/12	686,000	 c. 95	
2/06	1.4m	
c. 196	
/12	169,000	
128	
4/13	10.7m	 c. 65	

Ministry of the Interior
US State Dep’t human rights report
US State Dep’t human rights report
NPA
US State Dep’t human rights report
Joint Prison Coordination, D.R. Congo
US State Dep’t human rights report
US State Dep’t human rights report
US State Dep’t human rights report
NPA

Eastern Africa					
Burundi	
Comoros	
Djibouti	
Ethiopia	
Kenya	
Madagascar	
Malawi	
Mauritius	
Mozambique	
Rwanda	

6,477	
c. 120	
750	
112,361	
52,000	
18,507	
12,236	
2,663	
15,249	
55,618*	

28/2/13	8.95m	
72	
/12	773,000	 c. 16	
/11	906,000	
83	
2009-10	82.42m	
136	
10/12	42.97m	
121	
/12	21.19m	
87	
31/12/12	16.05m	
76	
16/1/13	1.32m	 202	
10/10	23.56m	
65	
31/12/12
	
11.3m	
492*	

NPA
US State Dep’t human rights report
US State Dep’t human rights report
Central Statistics Agency, Ethiopia
Legal Resources Foundation
US State Dep’t human rights report
NPA
NPA
NPA
US State Dep’t human rights report

*The prison population includes many thousands sentenced or awaiting trial in connection with the genocide of 1994.

Seychelles	
Tanzania	
Uganda	
Zambia	
Zimbabwe	
Mayotte (France)	
Réunion (France)	

628	
36,552	
34,940	
17,021	
16,902	
185	
1,138	

30/10/12	88,600	
1/13	47.0m	
30/11/12	36.0m	
17/9/13	14.29m	
2/13	13.1m	
1/9/13	218,300	
1/9/13	878,000	

709	
78	
97	
119	
129	
85	
130	

US State Dep’t human rights report
Parliamentary committee, Tanzania
NPA
NPA
NPA
French Ministry of Justice
French Ministry of Justice

Southern Africa					
Botswana	
Lesotho	
Namibia	
South Africa	
Swaziland	

4,241	
2,564	
4,314	
156,370	
3,411	

12/12	2.07m	
/12	2.12m	
10/11	2.26m	
20/8/13	53.1m	
3/12	1.2m	

Figures not available  W. Africa: Guinea Bissau.  E. Africa: Eritrea, Somalia.

2

205	
121	
191	
294	
284	

US State Dep’t human rights report
US State Dep’t human rights report
Ombudsman’s Office, Namibia
NPA
NPA

World Prison Population List (tenth edition)
Table 2 AMERICAS
	
	
	

Prison population total	
Date	
(no. in penal institutions		
incl. pre-trial detainees)		

Estimated	
national	
population	

Prison population	
rate (per 100,000 of	
national population)	

Source of
prison population
total

North America
40,544*	

Canada	

2011-12	34.45m	

118	

Statistics Canada

*Average daily population, including young offenders, 1/4/2011-31/3/2012.

USA	
Bermuda (UK)	
Greenland (Denmark)	

2,239,751	
271	
170	

31/12/11	312.72m	
5/12	65,000	
1/12/12	56,400	

716	
417	
301	

US Bureau of Justice Statistics
Bermuda prison administration
Danish NPA

Central America					
Belize	
Costa Rica	
El Salvador	
Guatemala	
Honduras	
Mexico	
Nicaragua	
Panama	

1,562	
14,963	
26,568	
16,336	
12,263	
246,226	
9,168	
15,126	

31/12/12	328,000	
31/7/12	4.77m	
27/5/13	6.3m	
13/8/13	15.5m	
1/13	8.0m	
30/6/13	117.05m	
31/12/12	6.0m	
31/8/13	3.68m	

476	
314	
422	
105	
153	
210	
153	
411	

US State Dep’t human rights report
NPA
NPA
NPA
Office of the Attorney General
NPA
Government of Nicaragua
NPA

Caribbean					
Antigua & Barbuda	
Bahamas	
Barbados	
Cuba	
Dominica	
Dominican Republic	
Grenada	
Haiti	
Jamaica	
St Kitts & Nevis	
St Lucia	
St Vincent & Grenadines	
Trinidad & Tobago	
Anguilla (UK)	
Aruba (Netherlands)	
Cayman Islands (UK)	
Curacao (Netherlands)	
Guadeloupe (France)	
Martinique (France)	
Puerto Rico (US)	
St Maarten (Netherlands)	
Virgin Islands (UK)	
Virgin Islands (US)	

371	
1,600	
1,507	
57,337	
266	
24,744	
441	
9,936	
4,201	
330	
568	
410	
3,800	
76	
235	
185	
440	
871	
918	
11,452	
180	
138	
587	

25/7/13	92,000	
8/12	360,000	
21/6/13	289,000	
5/12	11.25m	
3/13	68,000	
10/5/13	10.3m	
/12	104,000	
4/8/13	10.4m	
22/9/13	2.77m	
26/8/13	46,200	
11/12	179,000	
/12	109,000	
avrge 12	
1.35m	
18/12/12	15,600	
9/12	104,700	
avrge 12	
56,100	
/12	152,000	
1/9/13	470,000	
1/9/13	411,000	
31/12/11	3.68m	
11/12	39,300	
7/12	30,000	
1/1/11	109,000	

403	
444	
521	
510	
391	
240	
424	
96	
152	
714	
317	
376	
281	
487	
224	
330	
289	
185	
223	
311	
458	
460	
539	

NPA
NPA
Minister of State for National Security
El diario oficiel Granma
NPA
NPA
US State Dep’t human rights report
United Nations mission (MINUSTAH)
NPA
NPA
US State Dep’t human rights report
US State Dep’t human rights report
US State Dep’t human rights report
Anguilla prison administration
US State Dep’t human rights report
Cayman Is. government publication
US State Dep’t human rights report
French Ministry of Justice
French Ministry of Justice
US Bureau of Justice Statistics
US State Dep’t human rights report
British Virgin Is. prison administration
US Virgin Is. prison administration

South America					
Argentina	
Bolivia	
Brazil	
Chile	
Colombia	
Ecuador	
Guyana	
Paraguay	
Peru	
Suriname	
Uruguay	
Venezuela	
French Guiana/	
  Guyane (France)

60,789	
14,770	
548,003	
46,718	
118,201	
21,080	
1,962	
7,901	
61,390	
994	
9,524	
48,262	
694	

31/12/11	41.33m	
/13	10.53m	
12/12	199.8m	
31/7/13	17.57m	
31/7/13	48.24m	
12/12	14.15m	
31/10/11	755,000	
23/9/12	6.71m	
12/12	30.34m	
/12	535,000	
31/7/12	3.39m	
/12	30.0m	
1/9/13	250,000	

3

147	
140	
274	
266	
245	
149	
260	
118	
202	
186	
281	
161	
278	

Ministry of Justice
Andean Information Network
NPA
NPA
NPA
Ministry of Justice
NPA
NPA
NPA
NPA
Ministry of the Interior
Ministry of Penitentiary Services
French Ministry of Justice

World Prison Population List (tenth edition)
Table 3 ASIA
	
	
	

Prison population total	
Date	
(no. in penal institutions		
incl.pre-trial detainees)		

Estimated	
national	
population	

Prison population	
rate (per 100,000 of	
national population)	

Source of
prison population
total

Western Asia
Bahrain	
Iraq	
Israel	
Jordan	
Kuwait	
Lebanon	
Oman	
Qatar	
Saudi Arabia 	
Syria	
United Arab Emirates	
Yemen	

2,307	
37,014	
17,279	
6,066	
4,179	
5,094	
1,403	
c. 1,150 	
47,000	
10,599	
11,193	
14,150	

/12	839,000	
275	
30/6/12	33.7m	 110	
31/12/12	7.75m	 223	
6/12/11	6.4m	 95	
/10	3.05m	 137	
13/12/12	4.33m	 118	
/02	2.3m	 61	
/11	1.92m	 c. 60	
2/13	29.1m	 162	
/04	18.2m	
58	
/06	4.7m	 238	
2/13	25.93m	
55	

US State Dep’t human rights report
UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI)
NPA	
NPA	
US State Dep’t human rights report
US State Dep’t human rights report
United Nations 8th Survey	
US State Dep’t human rights report
NPA	
United Nations 9th Survey	
United Nations 10th Survey	
NPA	

Central Asia						
48,684	
9,828	
9,317	
10,953	
c. 42,000	

Kazakhstan	
Kyrgyzstan	
Tajikistan	
Turkmenistan	
Uzbekistan	

1/1/13	16.49m	
295	
1/1/12	5.43m	 181	
12/10	7.15m	 130	
/06	4.9m	 224	
3/12	27.7m	c. 152	

NPA, via Penal Reform International
NPA, via Penal Reform International
NPA	
United Nations 10th Survey	
NPA	

South Central Asia						
25,289	
/12	33.1m	
72,104	
16/4/13	170.58m	
1,001	
7/11	740,000	
		
	
385,135	
31/12/12	1,266.8m	
217,000	
25/12/12	76.4m	
994*	
/12	324,000	

Afghanistan	
Bangladesh	
Bhutan	
	 	
India	
Iran	
Maldives	

76	
US State Dep’t human rights report
42	
Official sources	
135	
National Assembly Human Rights	
	Committee
30	
National Crime Records Bureau	
284 	
NPA	
307*	
US State Dep’t human rights report

*Sentenced prisoners only.

14,936	
74,944	
27,000	

Nepal	
Pakistan	
Sri Lanka	

8/12	31.08m	
31/12/12	194.6m	
9/13	20.5m	

48	
39	
132	

NPA	
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
NPA	

South Eastern Asia						
Brunei Darussalam	
Cambodia	
Indonesia	
Laos	
Malaysia	
Myanmar (Burma)	
Philippines	
Singapore	
Thailand	
Timor-Leste	
Vietnam	

507	
15,397	
144,332	
4,020	
39,144	
60,053	
108,305	
12,504	
279,854	
295	
130,180	

9/12	414,500	
11/12	14.52m	
31/12/12	245.01m	
mid-04	5.8m	
6/13	29.74m	
mid-09	50.0m	
31/12/12	97.2m	
31/12/12	5.44m	
1/8/13	70.4m	
/12	1.17m	
mid-12	89.7m	

122	
106	
59	
69	
132	
120	
111	
230	
398	
25	
145	

US State Dep’t human rights report
Ministry of the Interior	
Ministry of Law and Human Rights	
NPA	
Ministry of Home Affairs	
NPA, Asia-Pacific annual conference
NPA	
NPA	
NPA	
US State Dep’t human rights report
NPA, Asia-Pacific annual conference

Eastern Asia						
1,640,000*	

China	

mid-12	1,354.1m	

121*	

NPA, Asia-Pacific annual conference

*Sentenced prisoners only. The total does not include those in pre-trial detention or ‘administrative detention’.

Japan	
Korea (Republic of)	
Mongolia	
Taiwan	
Hong Kong (China)	
Macau (China)	

64,932	
48,497	
8,193	
65,288	
9,189	
1,083	

30/6/13	127.26m	
30/6/13	48.84m	
1/10/12	2.85m	
30/4/13	23.34m	
30/6/13	7.19m	
31/10/12 	
566,200	

51	
99	
287	
280	
128	
191	

Ministry of Justice	
NPA	
NPA	
Ministry of Justice	
Hong Kong prison administration	
Macau statistical directorate (DSEC)

Figures not available  Eastern Asia: North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea).

4

World Prison Population List (tenth edition)
Table 4 EUROPE
	
	
	

Prison population total	
Date	
(no. in penal institutions		
incl. pre-trial detainees)		

Estimated	
national	
population	

Prison population	
rate (per 100,000 of	
national population)	

Source of
prison population
total

Northern Europe
4,091	
3,186	
3,134	
152	
4,068	
6,117	
9,729	
3,649	
6,364	
	
84,430	
1,851	
7,855	
10	
97	
97	
163	

Denmark	
Estonia	
Finland	
Iceland	
Ireland	
Latvia	
Lithuania	
Norway	
Sweden	
United Kingdom	
– England & Wales	
– Northern Ireland	
– Scotland	
Faeroe Is. (Denmark)	
Guernsey (UK)	
Isle of Man (UK)	
Jersey (UK)	

1/9/13	5.61m	
73	
30/9/13	1.34m	 238	
1/1/13	5.43m	
58	
1/9/13	321,400	
47	
30/9/13	4.6m	 88	
1/1/13	2.01m	 304	
1/1/13	2.96m	 329	
1/9/13	5.1m	 72	
1/10/12	9.53m	
67	
			
27/9/13	57.06m	
148	
27/9/13	1.84m	 101	
27/9/13	5.33m	 147	
avrge 12	
48,230	
21	
4/13	65,800	 147	
9/9/13	86,700	 112	
10/9/13	98,750	 165	

NPA
Ministry of Justice
NPA
NPA
NPA
NPA
NPA
NPA
NPA
Ministry of Justice
NPA
NPA
Danish NPA
Guernsey prison administration
Isle of Man prison administration
Jersey prison administration

Southern Europe					
Albania	
Andorra	
Bosnia & Herzegovina	
– Federation	
– Republika Srpska	
Croatia	
Cyprus	

4,505	
33	
	
1,883	
1,027	
4,741	
905*	

1/1/13	2.85m	 158	
1/1/13	86,900	
38	
			
1/1/13	2.35m	
80	
31/12/12	1.4m	 73	
1/1/13	4.38m	 108	
1/9/11	854,700*	
106	

Council of Europe
Council of Europe
Council of Europe
Rep. Srpska prison administration
Council of Europe
C of E Annual Penal Statistics

*Does not include the internationally unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Greece	
Italy	
Kosovo/Kosova	
Macedonia (F Yug Rep)	
Malta	
Montenegro	
Portugal	
San Marino	

12,479	
64,835	
1,691	
2,515	
610	
1,297	
14,264	
2*	

1/1/12	11.29m	
31/8/13	61.14m	
31/12/12	1.82m	
1/9/11	2.06m	
1/7/13	420,050	
1/1/13	622,600	
1/9/13	10.49m	
1/9/11	32,100	

111	
106	
93	
122	
145	
208	
136	
6*	

NPA
Ministry of Justice
US State Dept human rights report
C of E Annual Penal Statistics
Ministry of Justice & Home Affairs
Council of Europe
NPA
C of E Annual Penal Statistics

*By agreement with Italy, most persons imprisoned by San Marino are held in Italian prisons.

10,226	
1,357	
68,220	
70	

Serbia
	
Slovenia	
Spain	
Gibraltar (UK)	

31/12/12	7.21m	
1/9/13	2.06m	
23/8/13	46.27m	
avrge 11	
29,450	

142	
66	
147	
238	

NPA
NPA
NPA
Gibraltar prison administration

Western Europe					
8,273	
12,126	
62,443*	

Austria	
Belgium	
France	

1/1/13	8.48m	
1/1/13	11.19m	
1/9/13	63.94m*	

98	
108	
98	

NPA
Council of Europe
NPA

*Metropolitan France, excluding departments and territories in Africa, the Americas and Oceania.

64,379	
9*	

Germany	
Liechtenstein	

31/3/13	81.96m	
1/1/13	36,800	

79	
24*	

German Federal Statistical Office
Council of Europe

*By agreement with Austria, some persons imprisoned by Liechtenstein may be held in Austrian prisons.

Luxembourg	
Monaco	

656	
27*	

1/1/13	538,000	
1/1/13	36,900	

122	
73*	

Council of Europe
Council of Europe

*By agreement with France, some persons imprisoned by Monaco may be held in French prisons.

Netherlands	
Switzerland	

13,749	
6,599	

30/9/12	16.79m	
5/9/12	8.01m	

82	
82	

NPA
Swiss Federal Statistical Office

Europe/Asia					
Armenia	
Azerbaijan	

4,756	
37,989*	

Georgia	

10,202* 	

1/1/13	2.9m	 164	
1/9/11	9.19m	 413*	

Council of Europe
C of E Annual Penal Statistics

*Includes pre-trial detainees not held in the prisons of the Ministry of Justice.

30/4/13	4.54m*	 225	

Ministry of Corrections and Legal Affairs

* Does not include Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which have declared independence from Georgia.

Russian Federation	
Turkey	

681,600	
137,133	

1/9/13	143.4m	
17/9/13	76.43m	

5

475	
179	

NPA
NPA

World Prison Population List (tenth edition)
Table 4 cont. EUROPE
	
	
	

Prison population total	
Date	
(no. in penal institutions		
incl. pre-trial detainees)		

Estimated	
national	
population	

Prison population	
rate (per 100,000 of	
national population)	

Source of
prison population
total

Central and Eastern Europe
31,700	
10,996	
16,257	
18,388	
6,710*	

Belarus	
Bulgaria	
Czech Republic	
Hungary	
Moldova	

1/10/12	9.45m	
10/12	7.3m	
30/8/13	10.54m	
13/6/13	9.9m	
1/4/13	3.56m*	

335	
151	
154	
186	
188	

NPA
US State Dep’t human rights report
NPA
NPA
NPA

*Does not include the internationally unrecognised Transdniestria/Transnistria/Pridnestrovie.

83,610	
33,015	
10,152	
137,965	

Poland	
Romania	
Slovakia	
Ukraine	

31/8/13	38.55m	
24/9/13	21.25m	
31/8/13	5.42m	
1/9/13	45.21m	

217	
155	
187	
305	

NPA
NPA
NPA
NPA

Table 5 OCEANIA
	
	
	

Prison population total	
Date	
(no. in penal institutions		
incl. pre-trial detainees)		

Australia	
29,383	
Fiji		1,537	
Kiribati	
118	
Marshall Islands	
c. 32	
Micronesia, Fed States of	
90	
Nauru	
26	
New Zealand	
8,597	
Palau	
62	
Papua New Guinea	
3,467	
Samoa	
c. 430	
Solomon Islands	
321	
Tonga	
158	
Tuvalu	
12	
Vanuatu	
194	
American Samoa (US)	
167	
Cook Islands (NZ)	
25	
French Polynesia (France)	
427	
Guam (US)	
696	
New Caledonia (France)	
402	
Northern Mariana Is. (US)	
162	

Estimated	
national	
population	

Prison population	
rate (per 100,000 of	
national population)	

Source of
prison population
total

30/6/12	22.68m	
130	
Australian Bureau of Statistics
11/12	882,000	174	NPA
10/12	103,650	
114	
US State Dep’t human rights report
12/12	55,000	 c. 58	
US State Dep’t human rights report
31/12/12	112,000	
80	
US State Dep’t human rights report
31/12/12	9,400	 277	
US State Dep’t human rights report
30/6/13	4.47m	 192	
NPA
/12	21,000	 295	
US State Dep’t human rights report
mid-12	7.2m	 48	
NPA, Asia-Pacific annual conference
/12	188,650	 c. 228	
US State Dep’t human rights report
30/9/13	584,000	
55	
NPA
31/12/12	105,000	
150	
US State Dep’t human rights report
12/12	10,000	 120	
US State Dep’t human rights report
31/12/12	255,000	
76	
US State Dep’t human rights report
31/12/11	69,500	 240	
US Bureau of Justice Statistics
21/11/11	23,000	 109	
NPA
1/9/13	280,500	
152	
French Ministry of Justice	
4/6/13	161,000	
432	
Guam prison administration
1/9/13	264,000	
152	
French Ministry of Justice	
31/12/11	61,300	 264	
US Bureau of Justice Statistics

Abbreviations
C of E	 Council of Europe
NPA	

National prison administration

Roy Walmsley is a consultant to the United Nations and an Associate of the International Centre for Prison Studies
(ICPS). At ICPS he is director of the World Prison Brief, a comprehensive database of information on the prison
systems of the world, which is available free of charge at www.prisonstudies.org
He has also produced the World Female Imprisonment List (2nd edition 2012) and the World Pre-trial/Remand
Imprisonment List (2008, 2nd edition scheduled for 2014), which complement the World Prison Population List and
the World Prison Brief and are also published by ICPS.

International Centre for Prison Studies Telephone +44 (0)20 3667 7883
Victoria Charity Centre
Website www.prisonstudies.org
11 Belgrave Road
Email admin@icps.essex.ac.uk
London SW1V 1RB
Follow us on Twitter@ICPSLONDON
United Kingdom

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