Basis of Presentation - Additional Information (Details)	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2023 Person Facility Bed Detainee
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Number of beds \| Bed	82,000
Correctional, detention and residential treatment facilities including projects under development \| Facility	102
Taxable income to its stockholders equity	90.00%
Provision of monitoring services tracking offenders, number of individuals (more than) \| Person	400,000
Provision of monitoring services tracking offenders using technology products (in detainees) \| Detainee	180,000

Correctional, Detention and Residential Treatment Facilities Including Projects Under Development.

No definition available.

Name:	geo_CorrectionalDetentionAndResidentialTreatmentFacilitiesIncludingProjectsUnderDevelopment
Namespace Prefix:	geo_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

Number of Beds in Facility Which Has Notice of Intent to Award Contract For

No definition available.

Name:	geo_NumberofBedsinFacilityWhichHasNoticeofIntenttoAwardContractFor
Namespace Prefix:	geo_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

Organization consolidation and presentation of financial statements.

No definition available.

Name:	geo_OrganizationConsolidationAndPresentationOfFinancialStatementsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	geo_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Provision of monitoring services tracking offenders.

No definition available.

Name:	geo_ProvisionOfMonitoringServicesTrackingOffenders
Namespace Prefix:	geo_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

Provision of Monitoring Services Tracking Offenders Using Technology Products

No definition available.

Name:	geo_ProvisionofMonitoringServicesTrackingOffendersUsingTechnologyProducts
Namespace Prefix:	geo_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

Maximum number of shares that may be issued in accordance with the plan as a proportion of outstanding capital stock.

No definition available.

Name:	us-gaap_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardPercentageOfOutstandingStockMaximum
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration