Are 72% of prison inmates in Switzerland foreign?
US president Donald Trump told the UN that nearly three quarters of the Swiss prison population are not Swiss. Is he right?
In a recent speech to the UN, US president Donald Trump set out some remarkable figures on the proportion of inmates in European prisons who were foreign nationals.
Citing statistics from the Council of Europe, he references Greece, Germany and Austria, as having rates around 50%.
“In Switzerland, beautiful Switzerland,” he said “72% of the people in prisons are from outside of Switzerland.”
These numbers are correct, but why are the percentages so high – particularly in Switzerland?
Tim Harford speaks to Professor Marcelo Aebi, a criminologist from the University of Lausanne, who wrote the prisons report for the Council of Europe.
If you’ve seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at, let us know: [email protected]
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Tom Colls
Sound mix: Rod Farquhar
Editor: Richard Vadon
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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.
