Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015
Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted [Abstract]
Net income	$ 32,326	$ 28,756
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	24	21
Net income attributable to The GEO Group, Inc.	$ 32,350	$ 28,777
Basic earnings per share attributable to The GEO Group, Inc.:
Weighted average shares outstanding	73,875,000	73,549,000
Per share amount	$ 0.44	$ 0.39
Diluted earnings per share attributable to The GEO Group, Inc.:
Weighted average shares outstanding	73,875,000	73,549,000
Dilutive effect of equity incentive plans (shares)	325,000	335,000
Weighted average shares assuming dilution	74,200,000	73,884,000
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 0.44	$ 0.39
Restricted Stock
Basic and diluted earnings per share (Textual) [Abstract]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share	336,379	0
Stock Options
Basic and diluted earnings per share (Textual) [Abstract]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share	453,104	83,790