Based on a comparison of 57 countries in 2012, USA ranked the highest in official capacity of adult prisons, penal or correctional institutions with 2,178,000 followed by Russia and Brazil. On the other end of the scale was Iceland with 141, Malta with 613 and Luxembourg with 711.
Data for more countries are available at Official Capacity of Adult Prisons, Penal or Correctional Institutions indicator page.
| Official Capacity of Adult Prisons, Penal or Correctional Institutions | Unit | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Algeria | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 31,500 | 36,530 | 36,530 | ... | 62,121 | ||||||
| Argentina | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 46,494 | 49,322 | 53,044 | 56,002 | 58,211 | ||||
| Brazil | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 242,294 | 275,194 | 296,428 | 294,684 | 298,275 | |||
| Colombia | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 52,414 | 52,555 | 54,777 | 55,042 | 67,965 | ||||||
| France | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 49,512 | 50,840 | 53,940 | 55,271 | ... | ||
| Germany | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 79,960 | 80,708 | 79,713 | 78,921 | 77,944 | ||||||
| Indonesia | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ||
| Japan | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 73,543 | 79,946 | 82,486 | 85,086 | 84,914 | ||||||
| Mexico | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 171,488 | ... | ... | 173,060 | 181,876 | ||||||
| Poland | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 74,562 | 78,883 | 83,112 | 84,118 | 84,852 | ||||||
| Russia | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 938,907 | 939,196 | 935,732 | 928,169 | 922,959 | ... | ||||
| Turkey | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 73,396 | 92,593 | 95,307 | 105,085 | 112,654 | ... | |||||
| USA | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 2,013,400 | 2,045,900 | 2,114,000 | 2,138,100 | 2,148,500 | ||||||
| Ukraine | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 119,049 | 117,925 | 118,259 | 117,612 | 112,263 | ... | |||||
| United Kingdom | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 77,970 | 79,922 | 83,054 | 83,575 | 9,065 |
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