One in every 250 young men in Punjab and Delhi is in prison
The incarceration rate - the number of people in prisons for every 100,000 persons - is an important measure of a country's socio-economic environment, and criminal and justice systems. India's incarceration rate of around 40 persons in jail for every 100,000 residents is one of the lowest in the world. However national averages hide high incarceration rates among some groups in particular.
The incarceration rate for men, and for young men in particular, is much higher. The incarceration rate for men aged 18-30 years is over three times the national average. It is also significantly higher in some states in particular.
Punjab has India's highest incarceration rate, led to a large extent by charges under anti-narcotics laws. Young men in the 18-30 age group in Punjab and Delhi are ten times more likely to be in prison than an average person in the country.
With an incarceration rate of over 400, over one in every 250 young men in these two states is in prison. For context, the United States of America, which has among the highest incarceration rates in the world, had 520 people in prison for every 100,000 residents in 2023.
A large number of those in prison are undertrials. 85% of the incarcerated young men in Punjab's jails and 96% in Delhi's jails were undertrials, meaning that they were awaiting completion of their trial and had yet to be convicted of an offence.
Read more about incarceration rates across the country.
