Understanding mass incarceration in the US is the first step to reducing a swollen prison population

People incarcerated at a county jail in North Dakota gather together. Andrew Burton/Getty Images

The incarceration rate in the United States fell in 2021 to its lowest levels since 1995 – but the U.S. continues to imprison a higher percentage of its population than almost every other country.

The U.S. incarcerates 530 people for every 100,000 in its population, making it one of the world’s biggest jailers – just below El Salvador, Rwanda and Turkmenistan.