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Who throws the most people in prison?
"As of 2006, it is estimated that at least nine million people are currently imprisoned worldwide.[12] It is believed that this number is likely to be much higher, in view of general under-reporting and a lack of data from various countries, especially authoritarian regimes.
In absolute terms, the United States currently has the largest inmate population in the world, with more than 2 million[13] in prison and jails, even though violent crime and property crime have been declining since the 1990s according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.[14] In 2002, both Russia and China also had prison populations in excess of 1 million.[12][15] In October 2006, Russian prison population was decreased to 869,814 which translated into 611 prisoners per 100,000 population.
As a percentage of total population, the United States also has the largest imprisoned population, with 738 people per 100,000 serving time, awaiting trial or otherwise detained.[16] New Zealand has the second highest prison population per capita amongst developed countries, with 169 prisoners per 100,000.[citation needed]
In March 2007, the United Kingdom had 80,000 inmates (up from 73,000 in 2003 and 44,000 in 1985) in its facilities, the highest rate in the European Union (a record formerly held by Portugal)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison...tion_statistics
Nine million imprisoned worldwide; two million of those are American. So the U.S. has 22% of the world's prisoners, but only about 5% of the world's population.
Discuss.
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