Does the United States lead the world in prison population?

Yes. By total number of people incarcerated, the United States ranks #1 globally.

Why are U.S. totals so high?

Scale, policy choices (e.g., mandatory minimums and sentence lengths), supervision revocations, and high pretrial detention contribute to the total number in custody at any given time.

Is total population the same as per-capita rate?

No. Total counts measure volume, while per-capita rates adjust for population size. The U.S. is high on both, but per-capita rankings provide a better apples-to-apples comparison across countries.

Can federal reforms reduce the U.S. total?

Federal reforms like the First Step Act and RDAP can reduce the federal portion by earning time credits and moving eligible people to prerelease custody sooner. Most incarceration, however, is at the state and local level, where policy changes have the greatest impact.

Where can I get help understanding time credits or placement?

Prison Law Firm can review Good Conduct Time, First Step Act credits, and RDAP eligibility and help pursue placements or relief when appropriate.

Why the United States Leads the World in Prison Population

By total number of people behind bars, the United States ranks #1 in the world. Below is a current ranking table (by total prison population), followed by context on why the U.S. number is so high, how per-capita rates tell a different story, and where reforms like the First Step Act fit in.

In this article: Global ranking • Quick visual • Why the U.S. total is #1 • Per-capita vs. totals • Reform levers • FAQs • How we help

Global Ranking: Total Prison Population

Note: This table ranks total people incarcerated, not per-capita rates. Totals reflect all prison systems within each jurisdiction; numbers are rounded where shown and subject to change as governments update counts.

Quick Visual (Top 10 by total population)

United States — 1,808,100

China — 1,690,000

Brazil — 909,067

India — 573,220

Russia — 433,006

Turkey — 419,194

Indonesia — 277,869

Thailand — 277,475

Mexico — 252,466

Iran — 189,000

Bars are an approximate visual proportion to the U.S. total (not to scale for print).

Ranking	Title	Prison Population Total
1	United States of America	1,808,100
2	China	1,690,000
3	Brazil	909,067
4	India	573,220
5	Russian Federation	433,006
6	Turkey	419,194
7	Indonesia	277,869
8	Thailand	277,475
9	Mexico	252,466
10	Iran	189,000
11	Philippines	171,247
12	South Africa	166,008
13	Vietnam	133,986
14	Argentina	133,585
15	Egypt	120,000
16	Ethiopia	110,000
17	El Salvador	109,519
18	Pakistan	108,643
19	Colombia	104,357
20	Peru	103,112
21	Morocco	102,653
22	Myanmar (formerly Burma)	100,324
23	Algeria	94,749
24	Cuba	90,000
25	United Kingdom: England & Wales	88,424
26	Rwanda	87,621
27	Malaysia	87,419
28	France	84,177
29	Nigeria	81,349
30	Uganda	78,819
31	Bangladesh	77,291
32	Iraq	73,715
33	Poland	70,224
34	Saudi Arabia	c. 68,056
35	Venezuela	67,200
36	Italy	63,167
37	Chile	62,248
38	Taiwan	61,949
39	Kenya	60,000
40	Germany	59,413
41	Republic of (South) Korea	59,088
42	Cambodia	57,000
43	Spain	56,698
44	Democratic Republic of Congo	44,536
45	Australia	44,403
46	Ukraine	44,024
47	Japan	40,544
48	Ecuador	36,616
49	Canada	35,485
50	Turkmenistan	35,000
51	Sri Lanka	34,727
52	Cameroon	34,419
53	Tunisia	33,000
54	Belarus	32,556
55	Kazakhstan	32,171
56	Bolivia	31,105
57	Madagascar	30,530
58	Nepal	29,484
59	Uzbekistan	29,000
60	Zambia	28,225
61	Cote d’Ivoire	27,149
62	Azerbaijan	26,894
63	Tanzania	26,802
64	Dominican Republic	24,801
65	Romania	24,628
66	Panama	24,512
67	Angola	24,068
68	Zimbabwe	23,654
69	Guatemala	23,361
70	Afghanistan	23,000
71	Mozambique	22,000
72	Sudan	21,000
73	Nicaragua	20,918
74	Jordan	20,000
75	Israel	19,756
76	Paraguay	19,652
77	Benin	19,563
78	Czech Republic	19,534
79	Honduras	19,481
80	Libya	19,103
81	Hungary	18,729
82	Costa Rica	18,090
83	Malawi	16,536
84	Niger	15,831
85	Uruguay	15,767
86	Tajikistan	14,911
87	Senegal	14,147
88	Ghana	14,133
89	Belgium	13,075
90	Portugal	12,941
91	Laos	11,885
92	Burundi	11,796
93	Serbia	11,701
94	Netherlands	11,537
95	New Zealand	10,783
96	Mali	10,773
97	Syria	10,599
98	Greece	10,203
99	Hong Kong (China)	10,184
100	Georgia	9,845

If you need the complete CSV for research or media, we can provide it on request.

Why Is the U.S. Total So High?

Scale: The U.S. is a large, wealthy nation with a big criminal-justice footprint (federal + 50 state systems + local jails).
Policy choices: Mandatory minimums, sentence lengths, parole limits, and supervision revocations increase time in custody.
Case volume: High arrest and charging volumes—especially for drug, property, and supervision cases—compound totals.
Pretrial detention: Local jail populations awaiting trial add to the national total at any given time.

Totals alone don’t tell the whole story—per-capita rates show the relative intensity of incarceration after adjusting for population size.

Totals vs. Per-Capita Rates

The U.S. often also ranks near the top on a per-capita basis (people incarcerated per 100,000 residents), which many researchers prefer for apples-to-apples comparisons across countries of different sizes. Still, the ranking above shows the sheer volume of people incarcerated on any given day.

What Could Change the Trend?

First Step Act (federal): Time credits, RDAP, and earned-time incentives can reduce federal totals at the margins by moving eligible people to prerelease custody sooner.
State reforms: Most incarcerated people are in state prisons and local jails. Changes to sentencing, probation/parole rules, and pretrial policies have the largest potential impact nationally.
Reentry investments: Housing, jobs, and treatment lower returns to custody.

How Prison Law Firm Helps—Nationwide

We represent people in federal custody and their families with:

Time-calculation reviews (Good Conduct Time, First Step Act credits, RDAP eligibility)
Medical/safety interventions and injunctive relief
FTCA claims for negligence; RFRA/Rehabilitation Act for religious/disability accommodations

Request a free, confidential case review