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Current Global Women Prison Inmates

Over 733,000 women and girls are confined in correctional facilities globally, based on current research studies. This number includes both remand prisoners and those who have been convicted and sentenced. Analysts suggest the real number is substantially larger due to unavailable statistics from several countries.

Women consistently represent a small minority of correctional system demographics – commonly between 2-9% on average. Presently, women and girls account for approximately 6.8% of the world's incarcerated individuals. However, their figures are rising at a faster rate than incarcerated men.

Over the past two decades, the number of women and girls in prison has increased by almost three-fifths – almost three times the increase observed in the male prison population. The global female prison population increased by more than 100,000 individuals during the ten-year interval ending in 2020.

Primary Drivers Behind the Growth

Female criminal activities are frequently linked to poverty and typically represent a way to support themselves to provide for their families.

Extensive studies has found that legislation frequently penalizes essential livelihood measures and that women are unequally impacted because they are disproportionately represented among the most impoverished segments of society. In numerous countries, laws penalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution disproportionately target women. The probability of getting a prison sentence is often also related to poverty and the lack of resources for fines for minor crimes or to obtain release.

Countries with the Greatest Female Prison Populations

The US has the greatest quantity of female prisoners with 174,607. China follows with 145,000, plus an unknown number of women and girls in pre-trial detention and "procedural custody. 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 Britain, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the overall inmate count. Projections indicate these numbers are anticipated to grow to 4,200 by 2027. Across Europe, 94,472 women are currently imprisoned, while Australia reports 3,473 women in prison, constituting approximately 8% of its overall inmate demographic.

Nations with Major Growth in Female Prison Populations

Although including normal population growth over the past 25 years, the rise in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people continues to demonstrate a significant growth. These two nations have experienced over six times growth, while these countries have seen more than fivefold rises.

Incarcerated Women Facing Execution

Recent estimates 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 also the countries that perform the highest number of executions in general, including China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. According to latest reports, an unknown number of women were given capital punishment in China, while two were executed in Egypt, 30 in Iran, one in Iraq, nine in Saudi Arabia and two in Yemen.

Unreliable information is available for states with most frequent capital punishment or for additional countries including North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nevertheless, analysis is obtainable concerning 15 other countries with the most women on death row.

The main offenses for which women are receiving execution orders are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with compulsory capital punishment for murder, or that do not recognize gender-based violence as reducing factors, are inclined to display increased quantities of women on death row and additional capital punishments.

Additionally, countries that strictly prohibit drug trafficking, such as those in the Gulf region and Oriental southeast, have a significant percentage of women on death row.

Fitness of Imprisonment for Women

Numerous specialists and campaigners contend that prison is unsuitable sanction for a significant portion of women who commit crimes. Many are jailed for non-violent crimes; in Britain, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fit this category. Women often encounter a "revolving door" of short prison sentences – inadequate duration to engage in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

As many as 80% of women in prison worldwide have an recognizable psychiatric disorder. In Europe, self-harm statistics for women in prison are nine times higher than for the general population, according to the global health authority.

In response to rising numbers of jailed women and a deficiency of regulations reflecting their needs, the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners (known as the Bangkok Rules) were adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules oblige states to establish non-imprisonment penalties and to provide women-specific consideration in prisons.

Children of Female Prisoners

An calculated 19,000 children reside in correctional facilities with a parent, usually their mother, while many times that number are separated from them. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a mother in prison.

Apart from the clear division and associated suffering that a prison sentence can cause, it is frequent for a woman to forfeit parental rights of her children after just a brief period in prison.

Numerous nations make provision for babies and young children to stay in prison with their mothers up to a particular maturity level. However, a childhood spent in prison can harm a young person both in health and mental state.