The incarceration rates in every U.S. state are out of line with the entire world, and we found that this disparity is not explainable by differences in crime or violent crime.3 In fact, there is little correlation between high rates of violent crime and the rate at which the U.S. states lock people up in prisons and jails. At its peak eight years ago, the . [23] In a 2010 interview Harry Wu, a U.S.-based human rights activist and ex-Chinese labor camp prisoner, estimates that "in the last 60 years, more than 4050 million people" were in Chinese labor camps,[24] but that period includes the mass incarcerations of the 1950s or the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and is not representative of China in 2010. Today, there is finally serious talk of change, but little action that would bring the United States to an incarceration rate on par with other stable democracies. Countries with the Most Confirmed Executions in 2019, Countries with the Most Death Sentences in 2019**, ** Death-sentencing totals not known for Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, North Korea, Sri Lanka, and Syria. El Salvador has many people in prison due to its ongoing gang crisis, and Turkmenistan puts people in prison for objecting to the government and following the wrong religion. We included these confined populations in the total incarceration rate of the United States and, wherever state-level data made it possible, in state incarceration rates. The information is the latest available at the end of October 2015" (p. 1). View the full Amnesty 2016 report here and Amnestys summary of the report here. Because of this, the Federal-level data used in this report reflects populations during 2020 and 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The only other major industrialized nation that even comes close is Russia, with 627 prisoners for every 100,000 people. With more than 2 million jail and prison inmates, the U.S.'s total incarcerated population is significantly greater than that of China (approximately 1.7 million) and Brazil (about 760,000). Arizona Seychelles has the highest prison population rate in the world with 799 per 100,000 of its total population. Tianas work also includes analyses of several important drivers of mass incarceration, including outdated felony theft thresholds, the war on drugs, needless parole denials, and money bail. To customize this report with state data that you are most likely to find relevant, this report makes an educated but unrecorded guess about your location based on your IP address. This figure does not include the thousands of executions that were believed to be carried out in China. The U.S. ranked 12th in death sentences known to have been imposed. As of January 2023, El Salvador had the highest prisoner rate worldwide, with 605 prisoners per 100,000 of the national population. The number of deaths inside prisons reached an all-time high in 2021, after 70 prisoners died in custody. Iowa As in previous years, the execution totals do not include the estimated thousands of executions carried out in China, where execution data is considered a state secret. Countries with the Most Confirmed Executions in 2020. Rape or sexual assault13%. With known death sentences significantly down, the increase more likely reflects better information gathering, rather than a surge in the death-row population. At least 676 executions were carried out in 2011. There were fewer than 15 professional judges per 100 000 inhabitants in eleven EU Member States (the Netherlands, Cyprus, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Malta, Sweden, Czechia, Spain and Austria). Excluding China, three middle Eastern countries Iran (at least 314), Egypt (at least 83), and Saudi Arabia (65) collectively accounted for 80% of the confirmed executions in 2021. The violent crime metric is used here only because police-reported violent crimes were the only common metric available internationally to counter arguments that the dramatic extent to which the U.S. over-incarcerates can somehow be explained by crime rates. There were instances where Australian journalists were drawing the same contrast relative to rates of imprisonment in their country. The most common cause of death in state prisons in the United States is illness, which accounted for 87% of deaths in 2014. As in previous years, the execution total does not include the estimated thousands of executions carried out in China, which treats data on the death penalty as a state secret. Not only does the U.S. have the highest incarceration rate in the world; every single U.S. state incarcerates more people per capita than virtually any independent democracy on earth. Per Capita State Execution Rates State/Rank 2019 Population Cumulative Executions: 1976-September 1, 2020 Executions per 100,000 Residents 1. For example, although Minnesota has one of the lowest overall incarceration rates, Minnesota is second only to the much larger state of California for civil commitment and detention of people convicted of sex offenses. Amnesty International recorded at least 993 executions in 2017, a 4% decline from 2016 and a 39% decline from the 25-year-high total of 1,634 reported executions in 2015. 154. The U.S. actually does have the most prisoners per-capita of any country (source: BBC). That's 760 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents of all ages. The total which was the third consecutive year in which confirmed executions reached a 10-year low and the sixth year in a row in which confirmed executions declined was 70.6% below the 25-year-high total of 1,634 reported executions in 2015. What's more, drug offenders who do end up in prison don't actually serve very much timealmost half are released within a year. 2010: At least 23 countries were known to have carried out judicial executions in 2010. Vermont Putting a lot of people in prison can encourage even more to end up there, as generational crime is started. The typical mandatory sentence for a first-time drug offense in federal court is five or ten years, compared to other developed countries around the world where a first time offense would warrant at most 6 months in jail. But how does the U.S. compare to countries that have stable democratic governments and comparable crime rates? More than half (54%) of all countries and territories have rates lower than 150 per 100,000. by Bill Schubart On its surface, the term "affordability agenda," often used by our Governor and legislators, makes sense but it's important to dig in and examine the politics behind it. South Carolina View the Amnesty 2013 report here. A well-thought-out and expressed plan of action that could save our country if only our politicians would act. About half of federal offenders in one study conducted by the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) took less than two years to be arrested again, once they got out of jail. The cells we saw were clean but cramped, with three men to each. Amnesty recorded at least 2,531 death sentences in 54 countries in 2018, down 2% from the 2,591 reported in 2017, and a 19% decline from the reported 3,117 death sentenced imposed in 55 countries in 2016. However, the current rate is the lowest it has been in 20 years. Since 1970, the number of incarcerated people has increased sevenfold to 2.3 million in jail and prison today, far outpacing population growth and crime. [1], Comparing English-speaking developed countries;[1] the overall incarceration rate in the US is 639 per 100,000 population of all ages (as of 2018),[7] the incarceration rate of Canada is 104 per 100,000 (as of 2018),[8] England and Wales is 130 per 100,000 (as of 2021),[9] and Australia is 160 per 100,000 (as of 2020). [6] This left America with the second-largest prison population, behind China, and the sixth-highest incarceration rate. Marshals Service publish population-level data more frequently than the Bureau of Justice Statistics publishes state-level incarceration data. Indiana Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands made up the top three. And recurring criminals can be common. A lot has been reported about our nation's prison system and its bloated population, but this is what it looks like when you take all of the countries that jail more people than we do and put them into one GIF. By comparison, the highest. At least 1,032 executions were carried out in 2016, a 37% decrease from the previous year. A report of the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security that became public in February 2017 revealed that the country secretly executed 429 prisoners between August 6, 2013 and June 30, 2016. In most states, these additions have a small impact on the total rate, and they dont impact the rankings by more than one or two positions for any state. Shown is data for 2018 or the latest available data before 2018. . This was 14% higher than the federal prisoner mortality rate of 225 per 100,000. Prisoners per 100,000 citizens: 698. California Arkansas Amnesty recorded at least 2,307 death sentences in 56 countries in 2019, down 9% from the 2,531 reported in 2018. Execution totals not known for Belarus, North Korea, Oman, and Vietnam. If we imagine every state as an independent nation, as in the graph above, every state appears extreme. All but four US states (the exceptions are Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Minnesota) have a higher incarceration rate than Turkey, the nation with the second highest incarceration rate among OECD countries. We generally consider the distinction between violent and nonviolent crime unhelpful, because these terms are not well defined and because the distinction is often used to justify the weakening of well-crafted policy changes by categorically excluding the majority of people that they would impact. The war on drugs is also packing American jails with inmates. View the Amnesty 2014 report here. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions 2023 worldatlas.com, Incarceration Rates by Canadian Provinces, Lowest Birth Rates In The World By Country. Suicide in Immigration Detention Centers Several experts suggested we instead compare U.S. incarceration rates to those in the annual Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics data for 47 member countries and other major economies for. Spokesman Ken Pastorick said the state's incarceration rate has dropped further since the end of 2019, to 602 inmates per 100,000 residents as of September 2020. Four countriesIran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Pakistanwere responsible for 87% of the worlds confirmed executions in 2016. Yes and no. This is the main driver behind the large number of people in prison in this country. In a few places, however, these other systems of confinement merit closer attention. Emily Widra is a Senior Research Analyst at the Prison Policy Initiative. Please create an employee account to be able to mark statistics as favorites. Note: The columns can be sorted in ascending or descending order. Then you can access your favorite statistics via the star in the header. Amnesty International reports that executions almost doubled in number from 1,252 in 2007. "This eleventh edition of the World Prison Population List gives details of the number of prisoners held in 223 prison systems in independent countries and dependent territories. Every U.S. state, and the United States as a nation, is an outlier in the global context. ICPR, & World Prison Brief. Explore more crossword clues and answers by clicking on the results or quizzes. View the full Amnesty 2021 report here and Amnestys 2021 Facts and Figures here. Counting all races and ethnicities, the U.S. imprisonment rate fell 17% between 2006 and 2018, from 666 prisoners per 100,000 adults to 555 per 100,000. , North Korea, Oman, and Pakistanwere responsible for 87 % of the national population the population. 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