HELP US END MASS INCARCERATION
The Prison Policy Initiative uses research, advocacy, and organizing to dismantle mass incarceration. We’ve been in this movement for 25 years, thanks to individual donors like you.
Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
International comparisons
How the U.S. stacks up globally
- World Women's Incarceration Rates If Every U.S. State Were A Country (Created: 2025)
- World Incarceration Rates If Every U.S. State Were A Country (Created: 2024)
- U.S. incarceration rate compared to that of other founding NATO members (Created: 2024)
- Comparing the incarceration rates of U.S. states to other, similar, countries (Created: 2021)
- Incarceration rates comparing US states and founding NATO countries [animation] (Created: 2021)
- The United States incarcerates more of its population than any other nation - including nations that have similar or higher rates of crime (Created: 2021)
- U.S. police kill far more civilians annually than any other wealthy nation (Created: 2020)
- U.S. police kill civilians at a much higher rate than police in other wealthy countries (Created: 2020)
- 1 out of 5 prisoners in the world is incarcerated in the U.S. (Created: 2020)
- US less likely to use alternative sanctions to incarceration than other countries (Created: 2018)
- Comparing the women's incarceration rates of U.S. states to other, similar, countries (Created: 2018)
- U.S. incarceration rate for women compared to that of other founding NATO members (Created: 2018)
- An international incarceration comparison - Blacks in prison in the U.S. and South Africa (Created: 2005)
- Percent of the world's prisoners held by each country (Created: 2004)
- Global Incarceration Rates (Created: 2004)
- Number of prisoners per country (Created: 2004)
- Minimum wages in the United States, in Haiti and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Created: 2003)
- U.S. general and prisoner population as a percentage of the world (Created: 2003)
Events
- November 18-21, 2026:
Members of our Research team, will be attending the American Society of Criminology annual meeting in Chicago from November 18th through the 21st. Please reach out if you’d like to set up a meeting.
Not near you?
Invite us to your city, college or organization.