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Current Global Women Prison Inmates

More than 733,000 women and girls are currently held in correctional facilities worldwide, based on latest investigations. This statistic includes both pre-trial detainees and those who have been convicted and sentenced. Researchers estimate the true count is significantly higher due to incomplete data from numerous nations.

Female inmates generally account for a small minority of correctional system demographics – usually between 2-9% on average. Presently, women and girls comprise approximately 6.8% of the world's incarcerated individuals. Nonetheless, their numbers are increasing at a more rapid tempo than male prisoners.

Since the year 2000, the female prison population in prison has grown by nearly 60% – roughly triple the increase observed in the male inmate numbers. The international incarcerated women statistics rose by over 100,000 individuals during the ten-year interval ending in 2020.

Primary Drivers Behind the Rise

Female criminal activities are commonly connected to financial deprivation and typically represent a way to support themselves to support their children and relatives.

Extensive studies has established that laws often criminalize acts of survival and that women are unfairly targeted because they are over-represented among the most impoverished segments of society. In numerous countries, laws criminalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution primarily impact women. The chance of being given a prison sentence is frequently connected with poverty and the inability to pay fines for petty offenses or to secure bail.

States with the Largest Female Prison Populations

The US has the largest number of female prisoners with 174,607. China ranks second with 145,000, plus an unknown number of women and girls in awaiting trial custody and "bureaucratic confinement. Further substantial contributors include Brazil (50,441), Russia (39,153), Thailand (33,057), India (23,772), the Philippines (17,121), Turkey (16,581), Vietnam (15,152), Mexico (13,841) and Indonesia (13,044).

In the UK, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the overall inmate count. Estimates suggest these numbers are anticipated to grow to 4,200 by 2027. Across Europe, 94,472 women are presently incarcerated, while Australia reports 3,473 women in prison, amounting to approximately 8% of its overall inmate demographic.

Nations with Major Growth in Female Prison Populations

Even accounting for normal population growth over the last quarter-century, the rise in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people continues to demonstrate a substantial rise. These two nations have experienced over six times growth, while these countries have seen more than fivefold rises.

Women on Death Row

Current calculations indicate there are between 500 and 1,000 women on death row in at least 42 countries worldwide.

The countries that execute the most women are similarly the nations that execute the most people in general, including China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. According to current records, an unknown number of women were put to death in China, while two received death sentences in Egypt, 30 in Iran, one in Iraq, nine in Saudi Arabia and two in Yemen.

Incomplete statistics is available for countries that execute the most or for others such as North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nonetheless, analysis is obtainable concerning 15 other countries with the highest numbers of females on death row.

The principal violations for which women are given capital punishment are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with compulsory capital punishment for murder, or that refuse to consider gender-based violence as reducing factors, are prone to exhibit greater amounts of women on death row and more executions.

Moreover, countries that severely criminalize drug trafficking, such as those in the Gulf region and Asian southeast, have a high proportion of women on death row.

Fitness of Prison for Women

Many experts and advocates maintain that prison is not a suitable punishment for a large number of women who commit crimes. Most are incarcerated for non-violent crimes; in the UK, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fit this category. Women commonly face a "revolving door" of short prison sentences – inadequate duration to take part in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Up to 80% of women in prison worldwide have an identifiable mental illness. In Europe, self-destruction numbers for women in prison are nine times higher than for the general population, as reported by the WHO.

In reaction to growing statistics of jailed women and a lack of standards addressing their requirements, the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners (known as the Bangkok Rules) were accepted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules mandate countries to develop non-custodial sanctions and to provide women-specific consideration in prisons.

Kids with Imprisoned Mothers

An approximated 19,000 children live in prison with a parent, usually their mother, while significantly more children are divided from their parents. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a mother in prison.

In addition to the evident parting and associated suffering that a prison sentence can cause, it is not uncommon for a woman to be deprived of guardianship of her children after just a limited duration in prison.

Various states make provision for babies and young children to stay in prison with their mothers up to a specific age. However, a early life in correctional facilities can damage a child both bodily and psychologically.