"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 53 whereas for southern African countries it is 244;

"• in the Americas the median rate for south American countries is 233 whereas for central American countries it is 316;

"• in Asia the median rate for countries in southern Asia (mainly the Indian subcontinent) is 88 whereas for central Asian countries it is 160.5;

In 2016, there were 2,157,800 people behind bars in the US. This includes state and federal prisons as well as local and county jails. Of these, 188,300 people were federal prisoners, and 1,288,800 were state prisoners, and local jails held a total of 740,700 people. The incarceration rate in 2016 was 670 people per 100,000 US residents of all ages. The adult incarceration rate in 2016 was 870 people per 100,000 US residents aged 18 or older.

Click here for the complete data table for 2000 and 2007-2016.

As of September 1, 2018,, the Russian Federation's officially reported incarceration rate was 402 inmates per 100,000 of national population, with a reported total prison population of 582,889 out of an estimated national population of 144.9 million. In 2000, there were an estimated 1,060,404 people behind bars in Russia, for an incarceration rate of 729 per 100,000 of national population.