" 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 50 whereas for southern African countries it is 243;
"• in the Americas the median rate for north American countries is 220.5 whereas for central American countries it is 310.5;
"• in Asia the median rate for countries in southern Asia (mainly the Indian subcontinent) is 90 whereas for the countries of south-eastern Asia it is 166.
"• in Europe the median rate for western European countries is 73 whereas for the countries spanning Europe and Asia (e.g. the Russian Federation and Turkey) it is 267.
"• in Oceania the median rate is 184.5.
" Since about the year 2000 the world prison population total has grown by 27%, which is slightly less than the estimated increase in the world’s general population over the same period (31%). There are considerable differences between the continents, and variation within continents. The total prison population in Oceania has increased by 84%, that in the Americas by 39%, that in Asia by 43% and that in Africa by 53%; in Europe, by contrast, the total prison population has decreased by 26%. The European figure reflects large falls in prison populations in Russia (59%) and also in central and eastern Europe (48%); the prison population in Europe other than Russia has increased by 12%. Particularly large rises have been recorded in south America (224%) and western Asia (141%)."
Fair, Helen, and Walmsley, Roy, World Prison Population List (Fourteenth Edition), 2024, London, England: International Centre for Prison Studies, School of Law at Birkbeck, University of London.
