20 Countries With the Most Foreign Prisoners, Ranked

Imagine a prison. What comes to mind? If the title of this article didn’t give you bias, it would likely include images of people detained there from your own country.

Many tourists traveling abroad don’t give the possibility of being incarcerated a thought. But depending on the country, you could break strict laws without knowing it. Don’t cancel your international getaway because of this, though; there are likely many more foreigners who find themselves in foreign prisons because they knowingly commit a crime than because of an innocent lack of local law knowledge.

Regardless of the reason they’re in jail, Statista gathered data to rank the countries with the most foreign prisoners. We bet the amount of beautiful vacation getaways that make this list will surprise you. 

Counting Foreign Prisoner Rates

Photo Credit: LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS via stock.adobe.com.

Statista ranked the following countries by foreign prisoner populations using worldwide survey data from November 2023. The percentage of foreign prisoners among all prisoners is the main figure they used to form their ranking. 

According to Penal Reform International, there are 11 million people in prisons worldwide, the most ever reported, with men taking up 93% of them. Of those incarcerated, almost half a million people are incarcerated in a foreign country, which amounts to about 5% of the global prison population.

But which countries hold the most foreign prisoners worldwide? 

1. Monaco

Photo Credit: Boris Stroujko via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 92.9%

2. United Arab Emirates

Dubai Palm Jumeirah Island, United Arab Emirates.
Photo Credit: Delphotostock via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 87.8%

3. Liechtenstein

Photo Credit: JackF via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 83.3%

4. Luxembourg

Castle in Luxembourg.
Photo Credit: Sergey Novikov via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 73.7%

5. Macau

Photo Credit: milosk50 via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 72.1%

6. Switzerland

Photo Credit: Sergii Figurnyi via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 71.0%

7. Andorra

Photo Credit: Digitalsignal via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 70.6%

8. Gambia

Photo Credit: Damian via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 66.7%

9. French Guiana

Image Credit: Matyas Rehak/Shutterstock.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 63.0%

10. American Samoa

Image Credit: SCStock/Shutterstock.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 62.2%

11. Greece

Image Credit: Olga Gavrilova/Shutterstock.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 58.6%

12. Austria

Hallstatt, Austria.
Photo Credit: saiko3p via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 52.2%

13. Cyprus

Mackenzie Beach, Cyprus
Photo Credit: Fotokon via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 52.1%

14. Aruba

Image Credit: Robert Harding Video/Shutterstock.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 50.0%

15. Saudi Arabia

Photo Credit: tokyo studio via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 49.0%

16. Malta

Image Credit: kavalenkava/Shutterstock.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 44.0%

17. Belgium

Ghent, Belgium.
Photo Credit: Mapics via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 43.4%

18. Israel

Photo Credit: Picturellarious via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 38.9%

19. Lebanon

Photo Credit: FornStudio via stock.adobe.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 36.0%

20. Gibraltar

Image Credit: Vlas Telino studio/Shutterstock.com.

Share of foreign prisoners: 33.9%

Monaco’s Foreign Prisoner Percentage

Photo Credit: cunaplus via stock.adobe.com.

Monaco has the highest percentage of foreign prisoners while also facing a steady increase in crime. In 2023, about 800 crime incidents were reported in Monaco, a 0.9% increase from the year before. 

The country has a 606-person police force with a little over 1,000 security cameras monitoring criminal activity, which is the largest in the world per capita and per area. Monaco is the second smallest independent state in the world behind the Vatican with an overall area of about 0.8 square miles. 

Tourism Risks in the UAE

Photo Credit: LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS via stock.adobe.com.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranks second in terms of which countries have the most percentage of foreign prisoners, and its strict laws play a large role. One expert noted that while the UAE has done much to promote tourism, those visiting the area are still vulnerable to false allegations and probable imprisonment. 

For example, a tourist was arrested in the UAE for allegedly yelling at a rental car employee, which violated the country’s strict laws. The foreigner was subject to up to two years of imprisonment.

Furthermore, before laws and regulations on alcohol were relaxed in 2020, someone visiting the UAE could be subject to blood alcohol tests. They would be taken into custody and have their passports and phones confiscated if tested positive. 

Liechtenstein’s Two Faces

Image Credit: oksana.perkins/Shutterstock.com.

Liechtenstein is a country roughly 62 square miles large with a population of about 40,000 people. It has the third-highest percentage of foreign prisoners, yet due to limited jail facilities, criminals with a prison sentence of over two years are transferred to Austria. 

Luckily for locals and tourists alike, the crime rate in Liechtenstein is low, hence why they likely haven’t invested in more prison facilities.

50 Weirdest Laws in Each State

Three ice creams.
Photo Credit: ahirao via stock.adobe.com.

Most Americans are clear on treating thy neighbor as they’d want to be treated to reduce the chance of fines and jail time. But did you know you could be breaking the law by carrying an ice cream cone in your pocket? These are the weirdest laws in each state, most of which courts (thankfully!) no longer enforce.

50 Weirdest Laws in Each State That’ll Make You Chuckle

19 Misconceptions Non-Americans Have About the US

String of American flags.
Photo Credit: TSViPhoto via stock.adobe.com.

To some foreigners, Americans are morbidly obese individuals at a high risk of being involved in a firearm incident. Americans know this isn’t (always) the case, but it doesn’t make it any less irritating to hear stereotypes about us that aren’t usually true.

19 Misconceptions Non-Americans Have About the U.S.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *