GANG POPULATION

Los Angeles is the 'gang capital of America' with an estimated 120,000 gang members. There were at least 30,000 gangs and 800,000 gang members active across the USA in 2007. About 900,000 gang members lived "within local communities across the country," and about 147,000 were in U.S. prisons or jails in 2009. By 1999, Hispanics accounted for 47% of all gang members, Blacks 31%, Whites 13%, and Asians 6%.

There are between 25,000 and 50,000 gang members in Central America’s El Salvador. The Yakuza are among the largest crime organizations in the world. In Japan, as of 2005, there are some 86,300 known members. Hong Kong's Triads include up to 160,000 members. It was estimated that in the 1950s, there were 300,000 Triad members in Hong Kong.