An inmate of an unauthorized holding center is apprehensive about an impending transfer to a new facility. His arms are tattooed with dedications to his son and mother. (Jimmy Chalk/GlobalPost)

Kyle KimMay 14, 2012 06:05

How packed are the Americas' prisons?

Prison overcrowding is a major concern throughout much of the Americas. GlobalPost maps out prison populations and capacity by country.

Occupancy levels of prisons by country in 2011

(All data was provided by the UK's International Center for Prison Studies)

Comparing 1992 and 2010 incarceration rates by country

Comparing 1992 and 2010 prison population growth by country

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/120510/prison-population-and-capacity-statistics-the-americas

Today's Poll

Should some of the profits from smartphones and tablets go to internet content creators?

Mexican jails: Breaking out's not hard to do

A massive, front-door prison walkout exposes gaping holes in Mexico’s corrections system.

From pot smoke to pottery class in a Peru prison

There's nothing quite like Lurigancho, Peru’s largest prison. GlobalPost gets inside, and finds some surprises.

Brazil: Rio shuts makeshift police-run jails

With prisons overloaded, police turned anything from old buses to horse stables into detention centers. Rio de Janeiro is cracking down.

In Venezuela’s prisons, inmates are the wardens

There’s always a party, everyone is armed, and prisoners sometimes engage in gladiatorial fights to the death.

Caging in Central America

The region’s overcrowded prisons are deadly and churn out the real hardened criminals.

Mexican hot potato over who controls prisons

Some of Mexico's prisons are out of control and ill-equipped to handle the glut of inmates. While politicos fiddle, prisoners break out.