Prison occupancy rate Selected countries 2012 or latest, % Total prisoners
While California prisons are overcrowded, U.S. prisons overall are operating at 99% capacity, according to the International Centre for Prison Studies, putting the U.S. in the middle of a group of selected countries highlighted by the Economist in the chart above. Topping the list was Haiti, whose population of 9,904 inmates were housed in a system of 17 prisons operating at 336% occupancy level in 2009. The U.S. announced plans earlier this year to build two prisons in Haiti’s provinces as part of an international effort to ease the severe overcrowding that often requires inmates to take turns sleeping at night because of lack of space.
Prison occupancy rate  | Selected countries  | Capacity  | 2012 or latest, %  | Full  | Total prisoners  | Under  | Over  | 100  | 50  | 150  | 200  | 250  | 300  | 350  | Haiti  | 9,904  | Philippines  | 108,305  | Venezuela  | 48, -262  | Kenya  | 52, 000  | 217,000  | Iran  | Pakistan  | 74,944  | Brazil  | 548 .003  | Italy  | 65,886  | South Africa  | 153 000  | Mexico  | 242,754  | France  | 67, .977  | India  | 372,296  | Britain *  | 83, .706  | United States  | 2,265,000  | Turkey  | 131,470  | Sweden  | 6,364  | Germany  | 65, .889  | 688 -600  | Russia  | Japan  | 68 285  | Georgia  | 10, 202  | Source: International Centre for Prison Studies, University of Essex  | Eng land and Wales  | Economist. com/ praphicdetail 