The Arab countries topped the list with Saudi Arabia (1691), Kuwait (1161) and UAE (1012), according to the information provided by the MEA on April 22 to lawyer and RTI activist D B Binu here.
Italy, which had a diplomatic row with India over the arrest and trial of two of the country's marines for shooting dead two Indian fishermen from a ship off the Kerala coast, has 121 Indians in prisons in that country.
Indians are also detained in jails in various other countries, including Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Belgium and France.