As a percent of those ever incarcerated, persons ages 35 to 44 increased from 18% in 1974 to 30% by 2001; persons age 25 to 34 increased from 19% in 1974 to 23% in 2001. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- +Table 1. Prevalence of incarceration in a State or Federal prison, by current and former prisoners, 1974-2001+ Current and former prisoners ever incarcerated in a State or Federal prison-- 1974 1979 1986 1991 1997 2001 Number incarcerated Total 1,819,000 2,100,000 2,667,000 3,437,000 4,652,000 5,618,000 Current 216,000 302,000 524,000 788,000 1,171,000 1,319,000 Former 1,603,000 1,798,000 2,143,000 2,649,000 3,481,000 4,299,000 Ever incarcerated rate* Total 1,251 1,308 1,516 1,828 2,336 2,673 Current 149 188 298 419 588 628 Former 1,102 1,120 1,218 1,409 1,748 2,045 Note: Numbers of current adult prisoners from National Prisoner Statistics data series. Former prisoner statistics based on inmate survey data. Estimates were rounded to the nearest 1,000. See _Methodology_ for estimation procedures. *The number ever incarcerated per 100,000 adult U.S. residents. U.S. adult resident population 1974 1986 1991 1997 2001 145,356,000 175,886,630 187,982,751 199,121,734 210,207,901 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- +Prevalence rates up sharply among persons under age 50+ Between 1974 and 2001, the rise in first incarceration rates had the largest effects on younger age groups. The percent of persons ever incarcerated tripled among persons ages 25 to 29 (from 1.0% in 1974 to 3.1% in 2001)and more than doubled among persons ages 30 to 34 (from 1.3% to 3.7%) and persons ages 35 to 39 (from 1.4% to 3.8%) (table 3). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- +Table 3. Percent of adult population ever incarcerated in a State or Federal prison, by age, 1974-2001+ Percent of adult population ever incarcerated in a State or Federal prison Age 1974 1979 1986 1991 1997 2001