I'm far from an expert but the first google hit seems to indicate that the re-offending rate is higher in Sweden than in US, and on par with the rest of EU, exc

I'm far from an expert but the first google hit seems to indicate that the re-offending rate is higher in Sweden than in US, and on par with the rest of EU, except the other Nordic countries that have half the rate. The paper looks legit. The numbers are not directly comparable, so they are probably just indicative. You might be an expert, so please correct me if that's the case. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4472929/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4472929/ Except for Singapore, the countries at the top have a strong welfare state. Singapore might have a strong judicial system (and good education) instead. The countries are also all quite small. Here are the reported 2-year reconviction rates. Norway 20% Iceland 27% Singapore 27% Denmark 29% Finland 36% US 36% Canada 41% Sweden 43% Scotland(1yr) 46% N.Ireland 47% Germany 48% Netherlands 48% Ireland 51% France 59% England/Wales 59% Why Sweden comes out exceptionally bad compared to it closest neighbors is unfortunately not studied, and the authors are intrigued by this fact. I'm not though; If there is an actual difference, I would guess it's related to difference in crime rate in general, which is basically caused by the much higher immigration.