September 24, 2025
By: Angelina Tun
EASTHAMPTON, Mass. — A new report from the Prison Policy Initiative finds that every U.S. state incarcerates women at higher rates than nearly every country in the world, underscoring the nation’s status as a global outlier. According to the findings, “the United States remains a global outlier, with women’s incarceration reaching near-historic highs.”
The report compares women’s incarceration rates across U.S. states with independent nations. It accounts for all types of confinement, including prisons, jails, youth detention centers, tribal jails, and immigration detention facilities. Collectively, the United States represents only 4% of the world’s population of women but holds one-quarter of the women incarcerated globally.
The data shows stark contrasts between states and nations. South Dakota, which has the highest women’s incarceration rate in the U.S., surpasses every country in the world. Montana and Idaho also rank higher than any other nation. Women in Kentucky face incarceration rates nearly equivalent to those in El Salvador, “a country that has been described as an authoritarian police state.” Even New Jersey, one of the lowest-ranking U.S. states, still mirrors the United Arab Emirates, where “nonmarital sex can result in a prison sentence of six months for women.”
Read full article from The Davis Vanguard here.
