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Current Global Female Prison Population

Over 733,000 women and girls are currently held in correctional facilities internationally, according to recent analyses. This statistic covers both remand prisoners and those who have been convicted and sentenced. Analysts suggest the true count is substantially larger due to unavailable statistics from multiple states.

Women consistently represent a minor proportion of overall inmate numbers – commonly between 2-9% on average. As of now, women and girls comprise approximately 6.8% of the international inmate count. However, their population is growing at a quicker pace than male inmates.

Over the past two decades, the incarcerated females in prison has grown by nearly 60% – roughly triple the increase observed in the male prison population. The international incarcerated women statistics increased by more than 100,000 individuals during the ten-year interval ending in 2020.

Key Factors Behind the Growth

Women's lawbreaking are commonly connected to financial deprivation and often constitute a method of sustenance to care for their dependents.

Comprehensive research has found that regulations typically outlaw basic sustenance activities and that women are unequally impacted because they are more commonly found among the lowest economic brackets of society. In various countries, laws prohibiting abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution disproportionately target women. The likelihood of receiving a prison sentence is frequently connected with poverty and the lack of resources for fines for minor crimes or to arrange temporary freedom.

States with the Largest Women Inmate Numbers

The United States has the largest number of female prisoners with 174,607. China follows with 145,000, plus an unknown number of women and girls in pre-trial detention and "administrative detention". Other significant 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 England and Wales, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the overall inmate count. Estimates suggest these numbers are expected to rise 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 total prison population.

Nations with Major Growth in Incarcerated Women Statistics

Although including typical population expansion over the previous two-and-a-half decades, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people still shows a substantial rise. Cambodia and El Salvador have experienced more than sixfold increases, while these countries have seen more than fivefold rises.

Incarcerated Women Facing Execution

Present approximations 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 likewise the states that perform the highest number of executions in general, specifically China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As reported by latest reports, an undetermined count 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. However, analysis is obtainable concerning 15 other countries with the largest quantities of women on death row.

The main offenses for which women are given capital punishment are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with required execution sentences for murder, or that fail to acknowledge gender-based violence as mitigating circumstances, are more likely to have higher numbers of women on death row and additional capital punishments.

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

Fitness of Incarceration for Females

Many experts and advocates argue that prison is inappropriate penalty 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 fell into this classification. Women commonly face a "cyclical pattern 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, suicide rates for women in prison are nine times higher than for the overall public, as reported by the WHO.

In reaction to increasing figures of imprisoned females and a absence of guidelines addressing their requirements, the International Women Prisoner Standards (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.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An calculated 19,000 children live in prison with a parent, typically their mother, while a much larger quantity are separated from them. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a mother in prison.

Besides the clear division and associated suffering that a prison sentence can cause, it is frequent for a woman to lose custody of her children after just a short time in prison.

Numerous nations allow for babies and young children to live in incarceration centers with their mothers up to a specific age. Nevertheless, a childhood spent in prison can damage a child both physically and emotionally.