The table below shows the figures (in thousand) for imprisonment in five countries between 1930 and 1980.

The bar charts elucidate the number of imprisonment over 50 years in 5 different countries; Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, US and Canada.

The US had the highest number pf prisoners in four out of the six years shown on the chart, and in 1980 the figure for this country peaked at nearly 140,000 prisoners. Canada had the highest figures for imprisonment in 1930 and 1950, with about 120,000 prisoners in both years.

The figures for New Zealand and Australia fluctuated between 40,000 and 100,000 prisoners, although New Zealand’s prison population tended to be the higher of the two.

In contrast to the figures for the other countries, the number of prisoners in Great Britain rose steadily between 1930 and 1980, reaching a peak of about 80,000 at the end of the period.

While the figures for imprisonment fluctuated over the period shown, it is clear that the US had the highest number of prisoners overall. Great Britain, on the other hand, had the lowest number of prisoners for the majority of the period.