Some 11.5 million people are held in penal institutions throughout the world, according to the latest edition of the World Prison Population List (WPPL), researched and compiled by Helen Fair and Roy Walmsley and published on 1 May 2024 by the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research (ICPR), at Birkbeck, University of London.
According to published prison population numbers, the total worldwide prison population stands at 10.99 million. However, the total is likely to be in excess of 11.5 million if numbers estimated to be held in detention centres in China and in prisons camps in North Korea are included
