It’s challenging to rank countries definitively, but some nations have better records than others.

The United States can have 50,000 non-citizens in detention on any given day – more than any other country in the world. The United Kingdom also has an increasingly poor human rights record when it comes to detaining migrants and refugees. Libya, Greece and Mexico are also major detainers, and immigration detention remains a significant problem across Southeast Asia.

However, some countries in South America and Central America do not often use immigration detention – including Colombia, El Salvador and others, and a number of countries – including Portugal, Ireland and Belgium – have made more progress on limiting immigration detention and introducing humane alternatives.

It’s important to note that official data on immigration detention can be challenging to source, as many countries do not make it available. You can view our analysis of promising practices around the world in our report: Gaining Ground.