Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 564,917	$ 550,614
Operating expenses	426,709	414,707
Depreciation and amortization	31,926	28,949
General and administrative expenses	41,832	42,586
Operating income	64,450	64,372
Interest income	9,099	11,977
Interest expense	(35,869)	(35,000)
Income before income taxes and equity in earnings of affiliates	37,680	41,349
Provision for income taxes	4,755	2,470
Equity in earnings of affiliates, net of income tax provision of $706, and $611, respectively	1,995	1,487
Net income	34,920	40,366
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	67	37
Net income attributable to The GEO Group, Inc.	$ 34,987	$ 40,403
Weighted-average common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	121,768	113,599
Diluted (in shares)	122,304	114,478
Basic:
Net income per common share attributable to The GEO Group, Inc. - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.29	$ 0.36
Diluted:
Net income per common share attributable to The GEO Group, Inc. - diluted (in dollars per share)	0.29	0.35
Dividends declared per share (in US dollars per share)	$ 0.47	$ 0.47