The US has the highest number of prisoners in the world. Some of the reasons are mandatory minimum sentences, media rallying people to demand hard(er) punishment and, of course, the private prisons that tend to have a requirement of minimum occupancy (generally over 90%). You've gotta make your money somehow, right? That's just to mention a few of the reasons.
Another tidbit that may interest some of you: Liechtenstein sends some of their prisoners to Austria or Switzerland due to lack of prison space. As I've been informed, they do pay for it in a form of a 'rental' contract.
If the US prison population were a country, their population would be bigger than the population of Slovenia... and 50 other countries.
The prison population of San Marino is two. It is the smallest one in the world.
Three countries have only domestic prisoners. The countries are Tonga, Tuvalu and Kiribati. 24 countries have less than 1% foreign prisoners.
Another tidbit that may interest some of you: Liechtenstein sends some of their prisoners to Austria or Switzerland due to lack of prison space. As I've been informed, they do pay for it in a form of a 'rental' contract.