🔗 Share this article

Current Global Women Prison Population

More than 733,000 women and girls are confined in prison systems internationally, based on current analyses. This figure covers both remand prisoners and those who have been found guilty and punished. Analysts suggest the real number is much greater due to unavailable statistics from numerous countries.

Women consistently represent a minor proportion of correctional system demographics – commonly between 2-9% on average. As of now, women and girls comprise approximately 6.8% of the global prison population. Nonetheless, their numbers are increasing at a faster rate than male prisoners.

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

Primary Drivers Behind the Increase

Women's lawbreaking are commonly associated with economic hardship and often constitute a method of sustenance to care for their dependents.

Comprehensive research has determined that legislation frequently penalizes acts of survival and that women are disproportionately affected because they are over-represented among the lowest economic brackets of society. In various countries, laws penalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution disproportionately target women. The probability of getting a prison sentence is frequently connected with poverty and the failure to afford fines for small infractions or to secure bail.

States with the Highest Incarcerated Women Statistics

The US has the largest number of female prisoners with 174,607. China comes next with 145,000, plus an undetermined count of women and girls in remand imprisonment and "bureaucratic confinement. 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 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, constituting approximately 8% of its total prison population.

Nations with Major Growth in Incarcerated Women Statistics

Despite considering typical population expansion over the previous two-and-a-half decades, the rise in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people still shows a substantial rise. These two nations have experienced increases exceeding 600%, while Turkey and Indonesia have seen more than fivefold rises.

Women on Death Row

Present approximations indicate there are between 500 and 1,000 women on death row in at least 42 countries worldwide.

The nations that put to death the most women are similarly the nations that carry out the most capital punishments in general, namely China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Based on latest reports, an unknown number of women were put to death in China, while two faced execution in Egypt, 30 in Iran, one in Iraq, nine in Saudi Arabia and two in Yemen.

No accurate data is available for countries that execute the most or for others such as North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. However, analysis is accessible regarding 15 other countries with the largest quantities of women on death row.

The main offenses for which women are sentenced to death are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with compulsory capital punishment for murder, or that fail to acknowledge gender-based violence as mitigating circumstances, are inclined to display higher numbers of women on death row and frequent death sentences.

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

Suitability of Prison for Women

Many experts and advocates argue that prison is not a suitable punishment for a significant portion of women who commit crimes. The majority are imprisoned for peaceful violations; in Britain, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 belonged to this group. Women commonly face a "cyclical pattern of brief incarceration periods – too brief to take part in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Approximately 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 wider community, according to the World Health Organization.

In answer to growing statistics of jailed women and a deficiency of regulations considering their circumstances, the United Nations Female Inmate Guidelines (known as the Bangkok Rules) were adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules mandate countries to create alternative punishments and to guarantee female-appropriate care in prisons.

Children of Female Prisoners

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

Besides the obvious separation 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 short time in prison.

Many countries permit babies and young children to live in incarceration centers with their mothers up to a certain age. However, a youth experienced in incarceration can negatively affect a minor both in health and mental state.