Site Network: Prison Policy Initiative | Prisoners of the Census

Section IV: Global Comparisons

Crime and incarceration around the world:

U.S. vs. South Africa

  • Incarceration rate per 100,000 population in South Africa under apartheid (1993) 609: 368
  • Incarceration rate per 100,000 Black males in South Africa under apartheid (1993) 610: 851
  • Incarceration rate per 100,000 African-American males in the United States under George W. Bush (2001) 611: 4,848

This page is an excerpt from The Prison Index: Taking the Pulse of the Crime Control Industry (2003) by Peter Wagner, published by the Western Prison Project and the Prison Policy Initiative. Footnotes for all facts are available in the print version.

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