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Current Global Women Prison Population

In excess of 733,000 women and girls are detained in prison systems worldwide, as reported by recent research studies. This number encompasses both pre-trial detainees and individuals already found guilty and punished. Experts believe the actual total is substantially larger due to missing information from numerous countries.

Women consistently represent a minor proportion of overall inmate numbers – typically between 2-9% on average. Presently, women and girls represent approximately 6.8% of the world's incarcerated individuals. Nonetheless, their numbers are increasing at a faster rate than male prisoners.

Over the past two decades, the female prison population in prison has expanded by approximately 60 percent – nearly thrice the rise observed in the male inmate numbers. The international incarcerated women statistics rose by over 100,000 individuals during the decade-long span ending in 2020.

Key Factors Behind the Increase

Female criminal activities are frequently linked to poverty and usually serve as a means of survival to provide for their families.

Comprehensive research has determined that regulations typically outlaw acts of survival and that women are unfairly targeted because they are more commonly found among the lowest economic brackets of society. In many countries, laws prohibiting abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution almost exclusively affect women. The probability of getting a prison sentence is often also related to poverty and the inability to pay fines for minor crimes or to obtain release.

Countries with the Greatest Female Prison Populations

The United States has the largest number of female prisoners with 174,607. China ranks second with 145,000, plus an uncertain quantity 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 predicted to increase 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.

Nations with Substantial Rises in Women Inmate Numbers

Even accounting for typical population expansion over the previous two-and-a-half decades, the rise in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people continues to demonstrate a substantial rise. El Salvador and Cambodia have experienced over six times growth, while Indonesia and Turkey have seen growth exceeding 500%.

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 states that carry out executions on the most women are also the countries that carry out the most capital punishments in general, including China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. According to latest reports, an uncertain quantity 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.

No accurate data is available for states with most frequent capital punishment or for others such as North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nonetheless, analysis is obtainable concerning 15 other countries with the largest quantities of women on death row.

The principal violations for which women are sentenced to death are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with required execution sentences for murder, or that refuse to consider gender-based violence as reducing factors, are inclined to display higher numbers of women on death row and frequent death sentences.

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

Suitability of Prison for Women

Many experts and campaigners maintain that prison is not a suitable punishment for a significant portion of women who break the law. Many are jailed for peaceful violations; in England and Wales, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 belonged to this group. Women commonly face a "repetitive cycle of limited imprisonment terms – inadequate duration to participate in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Up to 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 wider community, as reported by the World Health Organization.

In response to increasing figures of imprisoned females and a absence of guidelines reflecting their needs, the United Nations Female Inmate Guidelines (known as the Bangkok Rules) were approved by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules require nations to develop non-custodial sanctions and to provide women-specific consideration in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An calculated 19,000 children live in prison with a parent, most often their mother, while many times that number are apart from their mothers. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a incarcerated mother.

In addition to the evident parting and connected hardship 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 permit babies and young children to live in incarceration centers with their mothers up to a particular maturity level. However, a childhood spent in prison can harm a young person both bodily and psychologically.