Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2021	Mar. 31, 2020
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 576,377	$ 605,017
Operating expenses	428,151	461,746
Depreciation and amortization	34,117	33,327
General and administrative expenses	48,479	53,782
Operating income	65,630	56,162
Interest income	6,202	5,438
Interest expense	(31,844)	(34,180)
Gain on extinguishment of debt	3,038	1,563
Gain on sales of real estate	13,329	424
Income before income taxes and equity in earnings of affiliates	56,355	29,407
Provision for income taxes	7,936	6,546
Equity in earnings of affiliates, net of income tax provision of $340 and $444 respectively	2,064	2,260
Net income	50,483	25,121
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	61	60
Net income attributable to The GEO Group, Inc.	$ 50,544	$ 25,181
Weighted-average common shares outstanding:
Basic	120,022	119,394
Diluted	120,417	119,933
Basic:
Net income per common share attributable to The GEO Group, Inc. - basic	$ 0.41	$ 0.21
Diluted:
Net income per common share attributable to The GEO Group, Inc. - diluted	0.41	0.21
Dividends declared per share	$ 0.25	$ 0.48