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..