Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 605,017	$ 610,667
Operating expenses	461,322	456,997
Depreciation and amortization	33,327	32,469
General and administrative expenses	53,782	46,424
Operating income	56,586	74,777
Interest income	5,438	8,396
Interest expense	(34,180)	(40,280)
Gain on extinguishment of debt	1,563	0
Income before income taxes and equity in earnings of affiliates	29,407	42,893
Provision for income taxes	6,546	4,840
Equity in earnings of affiliates, net of income tax provision of $444, and $359, respectively	2,260	2,596
Net income	25,121	40,649
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	60	56
Net income attributable to The GEO Group, Inc.	$ 25,181	$ 40,705
Weighted-average common shares outstanding:
Basic	119,394	118,774
Diluted	119,933	119,496
Basic:
Net income per common share attributable to The GEO Group, Inc. - basic	$ 0.21	$ 0.34
Diluted:
Net income per common share attributable to The GEO Group, Inc. - diluted	0.21	0.34
Dividends declared per share	$ 0.48	$ 0.48