As of March 2026, El Salvador had the highest prisoner rate worldwide, with over 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 countries with the highest homicide rates are located in Latin America.
Prisoners in the United States
The United States is home to the largest number of prisoners worldwide. More than million people were incarcerated in the U.S. at the beginning of 2025. In China, the estimated prison population totaled million people that year. Other nations had far fewer prisoners.
The largest share of the U.S. prisoners in federal correctional facilities was 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.