The Graphic Truth: How does El Salvador's prison rate stack up?

March 01, 2023

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A list of the ten countries with the highest prison incarceration rates per 100,000 people.

Luisa Vieira

El Salvador made headlines in recent days after President Nayib Bukele released photos of gang members being corralled into the country’s new mega-prison – a sprawling complex that will eventually hold 40,000 inmates. It’s the latest development in Bukele’s massive – and very popular – crackdown on gangs, in which Salvadoran authorities have locked up almost 2% of the adult population. (Never mind that US officials have recently accused Bukele of colluding with the very gangs he says he’s trying to stamp out!) El Salvador now has the highest prison rate per 100,000 people in the world – but how does that compare globally? Here we take a look at the countries with the highest official prison rates.

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REUTERS/Christophe Van Der Perre

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The Graphic Truth: How does El Salvador's prison rate stack up?

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More from GZERO Media

Welcome to another edition of my mailbag, where I attempt to make sense of our increasingly chaotic world, one reader question at a time.

As the US marks 50 years since withdrawing from Vietnam, one person would like to revisit the history VERY STRONGLY. #PUPPETREGIME

There has been a rise in attacks in northeastern Nigeria by Boko Haram and a rival group called the Islamic State West Africa Province, spurring concerns that jihadists might be making a strong return in the region.

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Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Prime Minister Mark Carney may have won the battle for power in Canada, but his country’s war of words with US President Donald Trump is only just beginning. And before that all begins, the Liberal leader must form a government.

Fifty years ago today, North Vietnamese troops seized Saigon, and ended the Vietnam war with a communist victory.

If there’s a winner from President Donald Trump’s trade wars, India is a good candidate. Its longtime rivalry with China gives Prime Minister Narendra Modi ample motive to build new bridges with the United States.

April 30 marks 50 years since North Vietnamese troops overran the capital of US-aligned South Vietnam, ending what is known locally as the Resistance War against America.