Adults held in prisons, penal or correctional institutions rose 15.2% to 32,645 persons in El Salvador in 2015, according to the United Nations.
Historically, adults held in prisons, penal or correctional institutions in El Salvador reached an all time high of 32,645 persons in 2015 and an all time low of 12,525 persons in 2005.
El Salvador has been ranked 22nd within the group of 64 countries we follow in terms of adults held in prisons, penal or correctional institutions, 18 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 | ... | |||
| 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 |
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