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

A list of the ten countries with the highest prison incarceration rates per 100,000 people.
Luisa Vieira
By Gabrielle Debinski,
Gabrielle Debinski

Gabrielle Debinski is a former senior writer at GZERO Media.

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Luisa Vieira
Luisa Vieira
Luísa is a former graphic designer at Eurasia Group and GZERO Media.
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March 01, 2023
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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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