8.0/10188 votesLoading...#1 - Norway: The Perfect Prison?
Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 12/14/2018
Many prisons aim to punish and demean inmates. Norway's Halden Prison -- as Raphael Rowe is about to see for himself -- does things differently.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/10161 votesLoading...#2 - Paraguay: The Most Dangerous Prison on Earth
Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 7/29/2020
Raphael Rowe spends a week behind bars at Tacumbu prison in Paraguay, where inmates scrounge in the trash in order to pay their own way.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/1086 votesLoading...#3 - Cyprus: The Utopian Prison
Season 6 Episode 2 - Aired 9/28/2022
No description available
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/10119 votesLoading...#4 - Greenland: Prison in the Ice
Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 1/8/2021
Greenland's Nuuk maximum security prison houses extremely dangerous prisoners, many of whom grew up alongside the guards now watching over them.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1084 votesLoading...#5 - Bosnia: The Mafia Prison
Season 6 Episode 3 - Aired 9/28/2022
No description available
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/10185 votesLoading...#6 - Ukraine: The Prison in a War Zone
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 7/6/2018
Ukraine's Zhytomyr Prison is operated with a skeleton crew that allows prisoners to freely roam the grounds -- often with potentially dangerous weapons.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/10118 votesLoading...#7 - South Africa: The Number Gangs Prison
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 1/8/2021
At Brandvlei Correctional Centre in South Africa, nearly all the convicts belong to dangerous gangs known for lethal stabbings.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/10123 votesLoading...#8 - Lesotho: Confronting Sexual Violence
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 7/29/2020
An unnerved Rowe contends with aggressive cellmates at Maseru prison, where a high number of inmates are behind bars for rape.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/10102 votesLoading...#9 - Philippines: The War on Drugs Prison
Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 1/8/2021
Once again, Raphael Rowe volunteers to go behind bars, this time in the Philippines at Manila City Jail, one of the world's most overcrowded prisons.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/1072 votesLoading...#10 - Finland: The Free Choice Prison
Season 7 Episode 1 - Aired 9/15/2023
At Finland's Kylmäkoski prison, Raphael meets violent offenders in the general population wing and bonds with the inmates, while a newcomer is attacked.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.3/1098 votesLoading...#11 - Moldova: The Lifers Prison
Season 6 Episode 1 - Aired 9/28/2022
No description available
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.3/1054 votesLoading...#12 - Czech Republic: The Crystal Meth Prison
Season 7 Episode 2 - Aired 9/15/2023
Surrounded by many inmates who struggle with crystal meth addiction, Raphael enters the Pilsen prison and discovers that some habits are hard to break.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/10137 votesLoading...#13 - Costa Rica: Prison on a Knife-Edge
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 12/14/2018
Though he's no stranger to life behind bars, Raphael Rowe concedes that Costa Rica's La Reforma Prison is certainly among the most intimidating.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/10134 votesLoading...#14 - Colombia: Narco Prison
Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 12/14/2018
While spending a week inside Bogotá's fortress-like prison, Raphael Rowe must negotiate the oppressive atmosphere and deal with an ominous threat.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/10117 votesLoading...#15 - Mauritius: The Extreme Punishment Prison
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 7/29/2020
The tropical island of Mauritius is home to Melrose maximum security prison, where even the smallest infraction is met with extreme punishment.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/1056 votesLoading...#16 - Solomon Islands: God’s Own Prison
Season 7 Episode 4 - Aired 9/15/2023
At the Rove maximum security prison, many of the inmates serve time for sexual offenses while navigating grim conditions and extremely limited resources.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/10181 votesLoading...#17 - Brazil: The Gang Prison
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 7/6/2018
Investigative journalist Raphael Rowe spends a few days -- both as a guard and a prisoner -- inside Brazil's gang-filled Porto Velho Penitentiary.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/10151 votesLoading...#18 - Papua New Guinea: The Breakout Prison
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 7/6/2018
Raphael Rowe visits the short-staffed Bomana Prison in Papua New Guinea, where near-constant food shortages keep the facility on the brink of chaos.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/10125 votesLoading...#19 - Germany: The Therapy Prison
Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 7/29/2020
Schwalmstadt, a 12th-century fortress surrounded by a moat, houses some of Germany's worst offenders, many of whom attend intense therapy sessions.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.0/10136 votesLoading...#20 - Belize: The Prison That Found God
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 7/6/2018
In Belize Central Prison, the inmates are told that rehabilitation comes through God. Raphael Rowe investigates if this evangelical approach works.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.0/10143 votesLoading...#21 - Romania: Gypsy Prison
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 12/14/2018
Raphael Rowe spends a week at a maximum security prison in Craiova, Romania, where the inmates include rapists, murderers and contract killers.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.0/1054 votesLoading...#22 - Indonesia: The re-programming drug prison
Season 7 Episode 3 - Aired 9/15/2023
Raphael gets a rare look inside Bangli prison, where drug offenders are forced to join a rehabilitation program and isolation is used as punishment.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.9/10187 votesLoading...#23 - Poland
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 4/27/2016
Connolly serves time in Poland's Piotrkow prison, a maximun security lockup where the country's most hardened criminals stay in cells 23 hours a day.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.9/10161 votesLoading...#24 - Mexico
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 3/3/2016
Mexico's el Hongo prison is home to murderers, hitmen, drug bossess and -- for one week -- Paul Connolly, who experiences life among the inmates.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.8/10167 votesLoading...#25 - Philippines
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 5/4/2016
Connolly spends time in two different prisons in the Philippines, where overcrowding, gangs and severe intimidation are a way of life.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Inside the World's Toughest Prisons
Every episode of Inside the World's Toughest Prisons ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Inside the World's Toughest Prisons!
Crime journalist Raphael Rowe goes behind the bars of some of the world’s most notorious and toughest prisons. Immersing himself in maximum security facilities around...
Genres:CrimeDocumentary
Best Episodes Summary
"Norway: The Perfect Prison?" is the best rated episode of "Inside the World's Toughest Prisons". It scored 8/10 based on 188 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 12/14/2018. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Paraguay: The Most Dangerous Prison on Earth".