Data extracted in April 2025.
Planned article update: April 2026.
Highlights
Prisoners per 100 000 inhabitants, 2023
This article presents European statistics on prisoners.
1 prisoner per 897 inhabitants in the EU in 2023
There was 1 prisoner per 897 inhabitants in the EU in 2023, or 111 prisoners per 100 000 slightly more than in 2022, when the rate was 108. In 2023, the highest prisoner rate per 100 000 in the EU was in Poland (203) followed by Hungary (187), Czechia (181) and Slovakia (179). The lowest rate was in Finland (53), followed by the Netherlands (66), and Slovenia (68) (Figure 1).
An increase in the number of prisoners from 2021 to 2023
There were around 499 000 prisoners in the EU in 2023, which is 9.8% less than in 2012, when there were around 553 000 prisoners, the highest number since 1993 (Figure 2). After a period of stability in 2017-2019, there was a decrease of 6.6% in the number of prisoners in 2020, probably due to COVID-19 related measures, followed by a 7.7% total increase from 2021 to 2023.
In 2023, 1 out of 19 adult prisoners were women
Since 2016 in the EU 1 out of 19 adult prisoners were women. In 2023, the share of women in prisons was 5.4% – almost the same as in 2022 (5.3%).
The share of women in prisons varies between EU countries(Figure 3). In 2023, the highest share was observed in Czechia (8.8%), followed by Hungary (8.2%), Slovakia, and Latvia (7.7% for both). The lowest share was in France (3.3%) followed by Bulgaria (4.1%), and Italy (4.2%).
1 in 5 prisoners had a foreign citizenship in the reporting country in 2023
In 2023, 1 in 5 prisoners in the EU had a foreign citizenship in the reporting country. In EU countries, the percentage of detainees with a foreign citizenship in the reporting country (20.6%) was almost the same than in 2022 (20.4%). The share of prisoners with a foreign citizenship varies between EU countries (Figure 4). The highest share was observed in Luxembourg (75.7%), followed by Greece (54.3%) and Cyprus (56.7%). The lowest share was in Romania (1.1%) followed by Bulgaria (2.9%), and Latvia (3.5%).
Source: Eurostat (crim_pris_ctz)
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
Data sources for prison statistics are national authorities such as prison administration or the national statistical institute. Eurostat collects prison data together with the yearly UN global crime statistics. All results presented in this article are based on official figures.
When EU totals are calculated to indicate an overall trend, missing figures for countries are estimated with the last available year (of the same country). The EU value of the unsentenced detainees percentage is calculated on responding countries in the web database. Other EU totals presented in this article are not disseminated in the web database. The national figures are presented in the web database as reported (no adjustments).
Context
In general, each country is responsible for its own criminal laws, criminal justice policies, as well as specifications for relevant statistics. Typically, official statistics on crime and criminal justice are made for administrative purposes and used by national authorities.
Prison statistics are part of official statistics on crime and criminal justice, relating indirectly to crime occurrence and the performance of the criminal justice system.
The number of prisoners (counted at the end of a year) depends on:
- the number in the previous year,
- how many were convicted and actually imprisoned during the year,
- how many left prison during the year: released, pardoned, died, escaped, etc.
The trend in prisoner number depends on:
- how many crimes are brought to court,
- how many are convicted, and actually sentenced to prison,
- length of sentences received, and the actual duration,
- alternative sanctions, early release, amnesties, pardons, etc.,
- law changes, for which types of crime imprisonment is prescribed, and for how long.