Adults held in prisons, penal or correctional institutions fell 3.32% to 13,168 persons in Costa Rica in 2015, according to the United Nations.
Historically, adults held in prisons, penal or correctional institutions in Costa Rica reached an all time high of 13,620 persons in 2014 and an all time low of 7,500 persons in 2007.
Costa Rica has been ranked 28th within the group of 64 countries we follow in terms of adults held in prisons, penal or correctional institutions, 21 places above the position seen 10 years ago.
| Adults Held in Prisons, Penal or Correctional Institutions | Unit | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Belize | persons | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 2,549 | 2,153 | 2,113 | 2,359 | 2,445 | ... | |||
| Colombia | persons | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 75,992 | 84,444 | 100,451 | 113,884 | 120,032 | ... | |||||||
| Costa Rica | persons | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 9,431 | 10,541 | 12,154 | 13,257 | 13,457 | ||||||
| El Salvador | persons | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 22,101 | 24,662 | 25,367 | 27,033 | 26,848 | ||||||
| Guatemala | persons | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 15,013 | ... | ... | ... |
| Honduras | persons | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 11,770 | 12,006 | 12,095 | 13,184 | ||
| Mexico | persons | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 224,749 | 219,027 | 230,943 | 224,969 | 246,334 | ||||||||
| Nicaragua | persons | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 5,754 | 6,713 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ||||
| Panama | persons | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 10,218 | 12,542 | 13,207 | 14,481 | 14,467 | |||||||
| USA | persons | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 2,281,900 | 2,269,200 | 2,244,800 | 2,224,700 | 2,216,600 |
Helgi Library 
