These Are the Most Expensive Prisons in the World | Brut

From Norway to Guantánamo Bay, these prisons cost more to run per inmate than most people make in a year.

Guantánamo Bay is the most expensive detention center in the world. The U.S. spends $13 million per prisoner, per year, to keep 40 inmates at the high-security military prison on the coast of Cuba. Construction and other classified expenses run the cost of maintaining Gitmo over $540 million.

The Supermax, also known as the “Alcatraz of the Rockies” houses around 375 prisoners held in solitary confinement — often for over 22 hours a day. It costs the U.S. over $78,000 per prisoner, per year.

The HMP Frankland high-security jail is home to some of the U.K.'s most notorious criminals and costs the U.K. roughly $70,000 annually to maintain each prisoner. It can hold around 800 prisoners.

Norway has a different approach to prisons. Halden Prison, the country's second largest prison, costs the country about $120,000 per prisoner, per year. The facility prioritizes prisoner rehabilitation and is designed to simulate real-life spaces and decrease inmates’ sense of incarceration.

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