This table has static row numbers via Template:Static row numbers.

Testing the sorting speed in the long table below. Sorting is very fast in the browsers I have used so far on a Windows 10 Pro desktop PC: Firefox, Chrome, Edge. Also, Safari (desktop view) on an iphone X.

See User:Timeshifter/Sandbox144 for all the links and explanatory notes.

With template. Removed class=nowrap

edit

Narrow your browser window until the country cells wrap to 2 or more lines. Note that the rows are still numbered correctly, even without class=nowrap.

The static row number column was created with the addition of just 2 things:

{{static row numbers}}
class=static-row-numbers

This table uses: class="wikitable sortable mw-datatable static-row-numbers"

Incarceration populations and rates. From World Prison Brief.
Country, territory, subnational area Rate per 100,000 Prison Population Notes
  Afghanistan 87 30,748
  Albania 164 4,641
  Algeria 153 65,000
  American Samoa (USA) 345 193
  Andorra 55 43
  Angola 93 24,000
  Anguilla (United Kingdom) 367 55
  Antigua and Barbuda 302 287
  Argentina 230 103,209
  Armenia 74 2,197
  Aruba (Netherlands) 165 170
  Australia 160 41,060 Notes
  Austria 95 8,471
  Azerbaijan 208 21,008
  Bahamas 442 1,778
  Bahrain 234 3,485
  Bangladesh 52 88,084
  Barbados 300 874
  Belarus 343 32,500
  Belgium 95 10,883
  Belize 307 1,222
  Benin 70 8,502
  Bermuda (United Kingdom) 342 226
  Bhutan 145 1,119
  Bolivia 164 19,161
  Bosnia and Herzegovina: Federation 83 1,813
  Bosnia and Herzegovina: Republika Srpska 64 763
  Botswana 208 4,343
  Brazil 357 759,518
  Brunei Darussalam 186 841
  Bulgaria 109 7,553
  Burkina Faso 37 7,621
  Burundi 96 12,761
  Cambodia 220 36,600
  Cameroon 124 30,701
  Canada 104 38,570
  Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) 296 1,549
  Cayman Islands (United Kingdom) 365 240
  Central African Republic 16 764
  Chad 59 8,700
  Chile 209 38,950
  China 121 1,710,000 Notes
  Colombia 193 97,303
  Comoros 27 225
  Congo (Republic of) 27 1,388
  Cook Islands (New Zealand) 224 47
  Costa Rica 374 19,226
  Cote d'Ivoire 82 21,186
  Croatia 84 3,413
  Cuba 510 57,337 Notes
  Curaçao (Netherlands) 236 377
  Cyprus (Republic of) 86 616
  Czech Republic 180 19,305
  Democratic Republic of Congo 29 20,550
  Denmark 68 3,968
  Djibouti 66 600
  Dominica 262 194
  Dominican Republic 243 26,782
  Ecuador 224 39,251
  Egypt 116 106,000
  El Salvador 572 37,190
  Equatorial Guinea 63 500
  Estonia 176 2,338
  Ethiopia 127 113,727
  Faeroe Islands (Denmark) 21 11
  Fiji 274 2,506
  Finland 53 2,910
  France 90 61,102
  French Guiana/Guyane (France) 200 612
  French Polynesia (France) 212 598
  Gabon 241 4,476
  Gambia 31 691
  Georgia 246 9,143
  Germany 69 57,600
  Ghana 43 13,333
  Gibraltar (United Kingdom) 139 47
  Greece 108 11,522
  Greenland (Denmark) 225 126
  Grenada 429 463
  Guadeloupe (France) 158 711
  Guam (USA) 411 690
  Guatemala 139 25,152
  Guernsey (United Kingdom) 132 87
  Guinea 28 3,782
  Guinea Bissau 10 196
  Guyana 239 1,884
  Haiti 97 10,905
  Honduras 237 21,629
  Hong Kong (China) 90 6,735
  Hungary 169 16,551
  Iceland 33 120
  India 35 478,600
  Indonesia 92 251,546
  Iran 228 189,000
  Iraq 126 45,000
  Ireland, Republic of 74 3,729
  Isle of Man (United Kingdom) 125 106
  Israel 234 19,376
  Italy 89 53,364
  Jamaica 138 3,866
  Japan 38 48,429
  Jersey (United Kingdom) 129 139
  Jordan 198 20,060
  Kazakhstan 157 29,403
  Kenya 81 42,596
  Kiribati 113 129
  Kosovo/Kosova 100 1,832
  Kuwait 117 4,662
  Kyrgyzstan 161 10,142
  Laos 130 9,000
  Latvia 175 3,319
  Lebanon 205 10,032
  Lesotho 92 2,073
  Liberia 54 2,700
  Libya 139 9,100
  Liechtenstein 23 9
  Lithuania 216 6,018
  Luxembourg 83 524
  Macau (China) 232 1,617
  Madagascar 102 27,903
  Malawi 71 14,060
  Malaysia 212 68,603
  Maldives 499 1,852
  Mali 33 5,209
  Malta 161 864
  Marshall Islands 66 35
  Martinique (France) 186 715
  Mauritania 53 2,321
  Mauritius 199 2,568
  Mayotte (France) 128 351
  Mexico 166 215,232
  Micronesia, Federated States of 127 132
  Moldova (Republic of) 184 6,497
  Monaco 21 8
  Mongolia 110 3,398
  Montenegro 172 1,070
  Morocco 237 85,767
  Mozambique 63 19,832
  Myanmar (formerly Burma) 171 92,000
  Namibia 295 7,400
  Nauru 140 14
  Nepal 86 26,118
  Netherlands 63 10,887
  New Caledonia (France) 154 441
  New Zealand 188 9,469
  Nicaragua 332 20,918
  Niger 47 10,723
  Nigeria 31 65,741
  North Macedonia 105 2,175
  Northern Mariana Islands (USA) 313 175
  Norway 49 2,653
  Oman 45 1,960
  Pakistan 38 77,275
  Palau 522 94
  Panama 416 17,967
  Papua New Guinea 62 5,087
  Paraguay 241 16,804
  Peru 290 96,440
  Philippines 200 215,000
  Poland 179 67,894
  Portugal 111 11,432
  Puerto Rico (USA) 278 8,884
  Qatar 53 1,150
  Republic of (South) Korea 105 53,920
  Reunion (France) 115 1,034
  Romania 113 21,795
  Russian Federation 331 478,714
  Rwanda 511 65,000
  Samoa 204 400
  San Marino 6 2
  Sao Tome e Principe 116 253
  Saudi Arabia 197 61,000
  Senegal 68 11,547
  Serbia 158 10,900
  Seychelles 324 320
  Sierra Leone 60 4,732
  Singapore 195 11,619
  Sint Maarten (Netherlands) 153 62
  Slovakia 194 10,610
  Slovenia 53 1,122
  Solomon Islands 77 479
  South Africa 259 154,437
  South Sudan 50 7,000
  Spain 122 57,680
  Sri Lanka 135 28,915
  St. Kitts and Nevis 393 220
  St. Lucia 263 503
  St. Vincent and the Grenadines 369 410
  Sudan 52 21,000
  Suriname 183 1,000
  Swaziland/eSwatini 278 3,776
  Sweden 68 7,000
  Switzerland 80 6,906
  Syria 60 10,599
  Taiwan 258 60,956
  Tajikistan 121 9,317
  Tanzania 59 35,803
  Thailand 488 338,806
  Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) 52 695
  Togo 67 5,277
  Tonga 166 176
  Trinidad and Tobago 292 3,999
  Tunisia 194 22,964
  Turkey 335 281,094
  Turkmenistan 552 30,452
  Tuvalu 110 11
  Uganda 124 55,229
  Ukraine 148 52,609
  United Arab Emirates 104 9,826
  United Kingdom: England & Wales 130 78,065 Notes
  United Kingdom: Northern Ireland 73 1,402 Notes
  United Kingdom: Scotland 135 7,438 Notes
  United States of America 639 2,094,000 Notes
  Uruguay 337 11,755
  Uzbekistan 68 22,900
  Vanuatu 72 202
  Venezuela 178 57,096
  Vietnam 128 123,697
  Virgin Islands (United Kingdom) 447 143
  Virgin Islands (USA) 394 412
  Yemen 53 14,000
  Zambia 123 22,823
  Zimbabwe 127 22,000