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Current Global Female Prison Inmates

More than 733,000 women and girls are detained in prison systems globally, according to recent analyses. This number encompasses both awaiting trial prisoners and individuals already convicted and sentenced. Researchers estimate the true count is much greater due to unavailable statistics from multiple nations.

Females typically constitute a small minority of correctional system demographics – commonly between 2-9% on average. Presently, women and girls comprise approximately 6.8% of the global prison population. Nevertheless, their figures are rising at a faster rate than male inmates.

Over the past two decades, the number of women and girls in prison has grown by nearly 60% – almost three times the increase observed in the male inmate numbers. The worldwide women inmate count increased by more than 100,000 individuals during the ten-year period ending in 2020.

Key Factors Behind the Growth

Female criminal activities are often linked to poverty and often constitute a way to support themselves to care for their dependents.

Extensive studies has found that regulations typically outlaw essential livelihood measures and that women are unequally impacted because they are more commonly found among the lowest economic brackets of society. In numerous countries, laws prohibiting abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution disproportionately target women. The chance of being given a prison sentence is often also related to poverty and the failure to afford fines for small infractions or to secure bail.

Nations with the Largest Women Inmate Numbers

The US has the highest count of female prisoners with 174,607. China follows with 145,000, plus an undetermined count of women and girls in remand imprisonment 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 the UK, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the complete incarceration statistics. Forecasts show these numbers are anticipated to grow to 4,200 by 2027. Across Europe, 94,472 women are currently detained, while Australia reports 3,473 women in prison, constituting approximately 8% of its overall inmate demographic.

States with Major Growth in Female Prison Populations

Although including standard demographic increases over the last quarter-century, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people continues to demonstrate a remarkable increase. These two nations have experienced increases exceeding 600%, while Turkey and Indonesia 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 likewise the states that perform the highest number of executions in general, including China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As reported by current records, an uncertain quantity of women were put to death 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 countries that execute the most or for additional countries including North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nevertheless, analysis is available for 15 other countries with the highest numbers of females on death row.

The two primary crimes 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 more likely to have higher numbers of women on death row and frequent death sentences.

Moreover, countries that harshly penalize drug trafficking, such as those in the Middle East and Asian southeast, have a significant percentage of women on death row.

Appropriateness of Incarceration for Females

Numerous specialists and advocates maintain that prison is unsuitable sanction for a substantial percentage of women who violate regulations. Most are incarcerated for non-violent crimes; in the UK, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fit this category. Women often encounter a "revolving door" of short prison sentences – too brief to take part in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

As many as 80% of women in prison worldwide have an identifiable mental illness. In Europe, self-harm statistics for women in prison are nine times higher than for the overall public, based on the World Health Organization.

In response to increasing figures of incarcerated women and a absence of guidelines addressing their requirements, the International Women Prisoner Standards (known as the Bangkok Rules) were adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules require nations to establish non-imprisonment penalties and to provide women-specific consideration in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An approximated 19,000 children reside in correctional facilities with a parent, usually their mother, while significantly more children are separated from them. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a incarcerated mother.

Besides the clear division and related distress that a prison sentence can cause, it is quite common for a woman to lose custody of her children after just a limited duration in prison.

Numerous nations make provision for babies and young children to live in incarceration centers with their mothers up to a particular maturity level. Nevertheless, a early life in correctional facilities can damage a child both in health and mental state.