Highest to Lowest
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Data shown in the highest to lowest lists are the most recent available but not necessarily from the same date. Please click on each individual country to see the date to which the data refer. As it is not possible to obtain meaningful comparative data on numbers of children in custody in different countries, we do not include juvenile imprisonment data in the highest to lowest lists.
| Ranking | Title | Prison Population Total | Prison Population Rate | Pre-trial Detainees (%) | Female Prisoners (%) | Foreign Prisoners (%) | Occupancy Level (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | 59013 | 100 | 42.9 | 4.7 | 1.5 | 176.5 | |
| Tunisia | 33000 | 267 | 54.9 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 194.1 | |
| South Africa | 166008 | 260 | 37.3 | 3.2 | 14.9 | 148.5 | |
| Seychelles | 482 | 392 | 24.5 | 6.6 | 1.3 | 53.8 | |
| Uganda | 79186 | 150 | 45.8 | 4.9 | 1.8 | 341.6 | |
| Liberia | 3398 | 60 | 66.2 | 2.8 | 6.6 | 251.7 | |
| Burundi | 12524 | 90 | 47.5 | 8.2 | 1.2 | 291.7 | |
| Djibouti | 750 | 74 | 35.8 | 3.9 | 22.8 | 171.4 | |
| Zimbabwe | 24089 | 150 | 18.1 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 130.1 | |
| Eswatini/Swaziland | 4500 | 369 | 24.5 | 2.9 | 6.0 | 171.1 | |
| Nigeria | 77438 | 33 | 65.0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 136.7 | |
| Reunion (France) | 1576 | 170 | 21.5 | 3.9 | 131.9 | ||
| Lesotho | 2600 | 117 | 19.5 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 70.6 | |
| Mauritius | 2754 | 215 | 43.2 | 7.4 | 6.4 | 116.9 | |
| Mayotte (France) | 629 | 204 | 56.5 | 0.8 | 226.3 | ||
| Ghana | 14133 | 41 | 11.4 | 1.6 | 7.1 | 137.7 | |
| Angola | 24068 | 65 | 48.5 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 106.7 | |
| Sao Tome e Principe | 300 | 129 | 20.0 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 333.3 | |
| Niger | 15831 | 55 | 62.0 | 3.1 | 97.4 | ||
| Rwanda | 87621 | 620 | 14.0 | 6.6 | 0.3 | 140.7 | |
| Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) | 2700 | 467 | 31.7 | 1.8 | 4.5 | 109.4 | |
| Senegal | 14147 | 76 | 48.0 | 2.6 | 9.6 | 329.5 | |
| Morocco | 102653 | 267 | 37.6 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 158.8 | |
| Gabon | 5501 | 226 | 70.0 | 3.5 | 13.8 | ||
| Central African Republic | 2678 | 52 | 65.3 | 3.9 | 190.5 | ||
| Guinea (Republic of) | 5549 | 38 | 55.5 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 171.4 | |
| Chad | 9589 | 56 | 28.8 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 133.4 | |
| Somalia (Federal Republic of) | 2799 | 16 | |||||
| Mozambique | 22000 | 63 | 28.1 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 247.9 | |
| Madagascar | 29281 | 95 | 39.6 | 5.5 | 0.2 | 277.5 | |
| Cameroon | 34419 | 118 | 55.5 | 2.6 | 4.6 | 164.3 | |
| Benin | 19563 | 144 | 55.0 | 3.1 | 8.8 | 279.5 | |
| Zambia | 28225 | 137 | 20.1 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 265.0 | |
| Cote d'Ivoire | 27149 | 94 | 36.2 | 2.5 | 30.0 | 297.1 | |
| Sierra Leone | 4453 | 52 | 51.1 | 3.5 | 0.4 | 178.5 | |
| Libya | 19103 | 269 | 29.0 | 1.1 | 12.8 | 141.6 | |
| Comoros | 422 | 46 | 43.6 | 1.6 | 7.7 | 161.7 | |
| Mali | 10773 | 48 | 71.7 | 3.4 | 223.3 | ||
| Democratic Republic of Congo | 44536 | 46 | 70.0 | 2.3 | 322.8 | ||
| South Sudan | 8400 | 58 | 28.9 | 10.9 | |||
| Burkina Faso | 8799 | 37 | 29.0 | 1.8 | 4.1 | 162.9 | |
| Tanzania | 26802 | 41 | 31.4 | 2.7 | 5.9 | 109.0 | |
| Egypt | 120000 | 113 | 33.3 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 207.3 | |
| Mauritania | 2826 | 57 | 50.0 | 2.0 | 13.4 | 101.8 | |
| Botswana | 3971 | 161 | 22.5 | 5.0 | 21.2 | 86.0 | |
| Gambia | 543 | 22 | 55.6 | 2.6 | 66.7 | 172.5 | |
| Equatorial Guinea | 500 | 63 | 5.0 | ||||
| Togo | 4990 | 59 | 60.0 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 183.5 | |
| Algeria | 94749 | 217 | 19.0 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 119.0 | |
| Malawi | 16536 | 78 | 17.6 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 236.2 | |
| Namibia | 8900 | 318 | 54.0 | 2.9 | 8.9 | 75.4 | |
| Guinea Bissau | 596 | 31 | 67.9 | 2.6 | 7.1 | 102.2 | |
| Congo (Republic of) | 1388 | 27 | 60.0 | 3.7 | 616.9 | ||
| Sudan | 21000 | 52 | 20.4 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 255.3 | |
| Ethiopia | 110000 | 99 | 14.9 | 4.2 | |||
| Eritrea |