U.S: 5 Percent of World Population, 25 Percent of Prisoners September 19, 2021 – Why does the United States have five percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of its prisoners, with two out of three returning to jail after being released? “It’s complicated,” veteran national Corrections Administrator Gary Maynard said. “We are a second amendment nation and a prosperous nation and that attracts drugs and organized crime.”