15 Countries with the Worst Jails and Prisons in the World

Just talking about jails and prisons makes a lot of people uncomfortable but this list of 15 countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world will definitely give you creeps.

Safe prisons do not really exist, but those with better security and proper infrastructure are definitely safer than overcrowded prison which will be described on this list. The problem actually arises with the very purpose of prisons and jails which is to rehabilitate persons who have gone astray. Of course, a lot depends on the crime he/she committed, but for those who had minor offenses on their record, the goal is to send them back to the society as productive members rather than culprits.

Unfortunately, many prisons around the world are overcrowded which results in very poor living conditions and increased violence among the inmates as well as between the guards and inmates. Besides that torture, corruption and staying for a prolonged amount of time in a solitary is often a common trait of worst prisons in the world. Since most of us probably want to learn about prison life by watching movies or documentaries, you might want to check out our list of 7 Best Prison Documentaries on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and YouTube. Worst prisons are mostly found in countries with bad justice systems, and to find out which countries are we talking about, take a look at our list of countries with the worst justice system in the world. However, don’t be surprised when you see that our list of worst prisons in the world contains names of developed countries with the functional and good justice system. The US is the example of a country which has both, best and worst prisons in the world. When you hear people talking about scariest prisons in the world, you will often hear them talking about Alcatraz which is located in the US as well. It is dubbed as the worst prison in history that probably had worst prisoners in the world.

Compiling this list of 15 countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world was pretty interesting because, let’s face it, we all like to hear some scary prisons stories. However, the majority of information I found is truly sad, and it comes as a no surprise that human rights activists fight against these inhumane prison conditions. Before compiling this list, I took a look at Insider Monkey’s list of countries with highest prison population believing that countries which have high prison population can also have problems with overcrowded jails and prisons. Of course, I was right, and some of these countries are present on this list as well. I advised a documentary movie on worst prisons in the world and an article published by National Geographic that deals with world’s toughest prisons. Since it is a lengthy list, I checked Quora discussions about worst prisons in the world. After singling out countries which were frequently mentioned, I investigated about worst prisons and jails in each of the countries on the list. Since it is impossible to write about all prisons, I singled out the worst prison in each of the countries. Conditions in all of these jails and prisons are horrible, and it seemed inconvenient to rank them from “best” to “worst” since nothing nice can find its place on this list. However, prisons with higher rates of inmate deaths and those that are severely overcrowded are placed higher on the list.

Let’s take a look at our list of countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world.

15. Bolivia

San Pedro prison in La Paz, Bolivia holds around 3000 dangerous inmates. This prison is pretty different from all other prisons since families of inmates live with them inside the prison. While the children play, rapists and murderers lurk behind every corner. Although other inmates have zero tolerance towards child molesters, it is not common that children get raped inside of the prison. Despite the occasional violence, this prison is not even close to the worst jails in the country, and yet it is the most bizarre one. Cocaine is cheaper than food and stabbings are part of everyday life in San Pedro. The fact that hundreds of kids grow up inside of a prison makes it one of the worst in the world. Yes, the family is important, but no child should grow up like that. They are exposed to violence on an everyday basis. A few years ago, a 12-year old girl was raped in prison.

14. Russia

We are continuing our list of countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world with Russia, which is pretty famous for having some of the worst and toughest jails in the world. The most notorious prison in Russia is Black Dolphin (informal name given to the prison because of a black dolphin statue at the entrance) prison located at the border with Kazakhstan. It is a home to country’s worst criminals including cannibals, serial killers, and terrorists. Inmates share a 50-square cell and are monitored 24/7 with guards making rounds every 15 minutes. When they leave the cell, inmates have to walk with the bend back, and when they go outside, they have to be blindfolded (not to get any understanding of their surroundings and prison security). They do not have a cafeteria but get meals (soup and bread) in their cells. According to the inmates presented in National Geographic documentary, the only way to escape Black Dolphin is to die.

13. United States

Many of us see the US prisons on TV and brutality which we often see in our favorite crime movies, or TV shows is more than real. One of the well-known maximum security prisons in the US is ADX, also known as Alcatraz of the Rockies. This prison is located in Colorado, and it is home to some of the worst criminals in the country, who show “no concern for human life.” It is an escape-proof prison where inmates spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement. Robert Hood, the warden of this prison from 2002 to 2005, said that this place is not designed for humanity or rehabilitation. This is only one example of notorious US prisons.

12. Philippines

Quezon City Jail, in Manila, was built to house 800 inmates (although the United Nations stated that its maximum capacity is 278 inmates) and now, more than 4,000 prisoners are crammed into miniature cells. Sometimes, there is no space to sleep, especially when it rains and space that was intended for 30 prisoners usually accommodates around 130 people. A picture tells a thousand words, and it is really heart-breaking to see the images of inmates lying on top of each other in (more than) overcrowded space. Of course, Quezon City Jail is only one example.

11. Syria

Amnesty International published an article about Saydnaya Prison where 13,000 have been killed between 2011 and 2015. After being starved and tortured, prisoners are called for a 2-minute “trial” where their name is logged into death registry. Before the mass hangings, prisoners are tortured, beaten and anyone can do whatever they want to them because “they will die anyway.” According to testimonies, there are more than 50 people in cells of 10 by 10 feet, and a majority of prisoners suffer from mental health problems due to overcrowding. Ex-prisoners said for this place to be “the worst place on Earth.”

10. Venezuela

Up next on our list of countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world is Venezuela, which has the second highest murder rate in the world, and it is expected that its inmate population will be pretty high. The justice system is struggling to deal with such a large population of criminals and jails are often overcrowded. Humberto Prado, director of Venezuelan Prison Observatory, stated that 80% of Venezuelan prisons are run by armed inmates where security has little or no control. Prison violence is common in a vast majority of Venezuelan prisons, and only one of the examples is Sabaneta prison. There is only one guard on every 150 inmates and overcrowding is a major issue. Inmates are packed literally like sardines in the majority of Venezuelan prisons. Human rights are violated every day, and it seems that very little is happen to change this hellish situation.

9. Cuba

A few years ago, inmates at the prison in Cuba, that’s up next on our list of countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world, recorded and released a video in order to expose the inhumane conditions in which they live. Sewage leaks, filth, overcrowded cells, and torture are part of their everyday life. There isn’t enough light, and some inmates are forced to spend a lot of time in solitaries, and guards use every possible way of torture from urinating on them to starving them. Also don’t forget that one of the most notorious (American) prisons, Guantanamo Bay detention camp, is located in Cuba as well.

8. Turkey

Turkish prisons are reaching their breaking point, especially since failed putsch after thousands of people were detained. According to Business Insider, some prisons are overcrowded to that point where prisoners have to take shifts to sleep because there isn’t enough space. Turkish prisons have sanitation problems, and there are constant claims of torture and ill-treatment. This makes it no different from the rest of the prisons and jails on this list of 15 countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world since (almost) all of them have problems with overcrowded “cells.”

7. Thailand

Bang Kwang Prison in Thailand, one of the countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world, also known as “Bangkok Hilton” has the reputation as one of the worst prisons in the world. It is an example of another underfunded and overcrowded prison where life turns into a living hell. T.M. Hoy, once a prisoner in “Bangkok Hilton” himself, wrote a book on his experience in one of the “deadliest” prisons in the world. Newcomers are required to wear shackles for the first three months, and those on a death row wear them constantly. The horror of Thailand’s prison system is evident in the story of Judith Payne, who was imprisoned after police found drugs in her room. In her testimony, she describes that inmates sleep in rows where one is unable to rotate due to the overcrowded cells. Physical and sexual abuse is, unfortunately, a regular occurrence.

6. Columbia

We are continuing our list of countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world with Columbia and its penitentiaries which have reached their breaking point as well. The most overcrowded is Riohacha prison originally built for 100 prisoners. It is overcrowded by 438%. The situation is the same will all other Columbian prisons, but the government is trying to solve the problem by releasing inmates who committed minor offenses. Prisoners often turn to violent methods of solving their quarrels. While investigating disappearances of at least 100 people in La Modelo, one of the Columbian biggest and overpopulated prisons, authorities have found that it is very likely that dismembered bodies of these people are rotting somewhere in the sewage system beneath the jail.

5. North Korea

While many of us believe that concentration camps are a thing of the past, North Korea, the next one on our list of countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world, has its own “prison” camps which are very similar to concentration camps. UN’s human rights body investigated the Hermit Kingdom where 200,000 people are currently imprisoned, and 400,000 have died there. 20-25% of prison population dies every year because of horrible conditions. Starvation is very common, and prisoners are fed with cornmeal and cabbage. They eat rats and insects to stay alive. Guards regularly terrorize and torture the inmates, sometimes just for fun. Many of them develop hunchback due to a diet without protein and calcium, and some of them lose their fingers due to harsh weather conditions. They are forced to work for 12 hours a day, and if caught lying down or trying to lay down (or working slowly) they get beat up.

4. China

Up next on our list of countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world we have China, that is well known for having a very large population, and we can just imagine how overcrowded prison and jails in China are. Unfortunately, this is often not the biggest issue of China’s prisons and jails. For those of you who are not familiar with criminal activities in China, you can be arrested even for practicing Falun Gong, a type of spiritual meditation. Mr. Jintao Liu was kept and tortured in various labor camps and detention centers. He had pins pushed into his nails, was electroshocked, raped, sleep deprived and spent one year in the isolation cell. He explained how prisoners are constantly humiliated, beaten and forced to eat off the floor. His story is only one story of those who survived the hell of being imprisoned in some of the worst prisons in the world that are located in China.

3. Brazil

Riots and prison violence are a common thing in Brazil, the number three on our list of countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world, and jails in Brazil’s Pernambuco state are the worst. They are run by inmates who sell crack to other prisoners and murder anyone who owes them money. This happens to inmates who cannot pay weekly taxes and their families on the outside cannot pay off the debt. Overcrowded prisons are a major problem in Brazil and Pernambuco is no different since 32,000 inmates are held in prisons which were built to hold no more than 10,500 prisoners. Some prisons in Brazil have only four guards on 2,300 inmates. Violence between inmates is constantly high, and newcomers and disabled inmates are under the biggest threat.

2. Argentina

Jails and prisons in Argentina, which ranks second on our list of countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world, reached their maximum capacity a long time ago, but there is no other solution for new inmates but to place them in existing facilities. Many units don’t have running water, hygiene is abysmal, and in some prisons only around 27 guards are assigned to watch over 1,800 inmates. 72% of inmates in Argentina experience physical and mental violence by guards, including suffocation, isolation, beatings, ice-cold showers and electroshocks.  One of the worst prisons in the world is located in Mendoza, Argentina and inmates who tried to speak up against the cruel system ended up with their mouth sewed together to prevent them from talking.

1. Rwanda

The New York Times published an article entitled “Rwanda jails: No Space, No Food, No Justice,” which perfectly describes the states of Rwandan jails. Every day 5-10 inmates die, and many others are taken to the hospital because of dysentery and pneumonia. There is enough space to sit or lie down and yet jails receive more and more inmates every day. It is a very sensitive topic since many of the prisoners participated in massacres where thousands lost their lives. 41% of inmates suffer from rotting feet from standing barefoot on the wet and dirty ground, 38% are suffering from wounds, sometimes caused by bites from other inmates. Need for retribution after the genocide is very high, and commander of Gitarama admits that some prisoners could be innocent but the majority are killers.

After reading this list of 15 countries with the worst jails and prisons in the world, we’re pretty sure that notion of “worst prison” has changed a lot. Sometimes having a place to sit can be more than enough to call a place “acceptable.”