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Current Global Female Prison Inmates

In excess of 733,000 women and girls are currently held in correctional facilities internationally, based on current investigations. This number covers both pre-trial detainees and those who have been found guilty and punished. Experts believe the actual total is significantly higher due to incomplete data from several states.

Women consistently represent a small minority of national prison populations – commonly between 2-9% on average. Presently, women and girls account for approximately 6.8% of the international inmate count. Nonetheless, their population is growing at a quicker pace than male inmates.

Over the past two decades, the number of women and girls in prison has increased by almost three-fifths – almost three times the growth observed in the male prison population. The international incarcerated women statistics rose by over 100,000 individuals during the ten-year period ending in 2020.

Key Factors Behind the Increase

Offenses committed by women are frequently associated with economic hardship and often constitute a means of survival to support their children and relatives.

Comprehensive research has determined that legislation frequently penalizes basic sustenance activities and that women are unfairly targeted because they are more commonly found among the poorest sectors of society. In numerous countries, laws penalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution almost exclusively affect 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 obtain release.

Nations with the Highest Incarcerated Women Statistics

The America has the greatest quantity of female prisoners with 174,607. China comes next with 145,000, plus an undetermined count 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 complete incarceration statistics. Estimates suggest these numbers are expected to rise to 4,200 by 2027. Across Europe, 94,472 women are currently imprisoned, while Australia reports 3,473 women in prison, representing approximately 8% of its complete incarceration numbers.

Nations with Major Growth in Incarcerated Women Statistics

Even accounting for normal population growth over the last quarter-century, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people continues to demonstrate a remarkable increase. Cambodia and El Salvador have experienced increases exceeding 600%, while these countries have seen more than fivefold rises.

Female Capital Punishment Cases

Current calculations 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 also the countries that carry out the most capital punishments in general, namely China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As reported by recent documentation, an undetermined count of women were given capital punishment in China, while two faced execution in Egypt, 30 in Iran, one in Iraq, nine in Saudi Arabia and two in Yemen.

Incomplete statistics is available for states with most frequent capital punishment or for nations like North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. However, analysis is available for 15 other countries with the most women on death row.

The principal violations for which women are given capital punishment are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with mandatory death penalties for murder, or that refuse to consider gender-based violence as lessening conditions, are more likely to have higher numbers of women on death row and frequent death sentences.

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

Suitability of Incarceration for Females

Many experts and advocates contend that prison is not a suitable punishment for a large number of women who commit crimes. Many are jailed for non-aggressive offenses; in the UK, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fit this category. Women often encounter a "repetitive cycle of brief incarceration periods – too brief to take part in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Up to 80% of women in prison worldwide have an diagnosable psychological condition. In Europe, suicide rates for women in prison are nine times higher than for the wider community, as reported by the global health authority.

In reaction to increasing figures 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 accepted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules require nations to establish non-imprisonment penalties and to ensure gender-sensitive treatment in prisons.

Children of Female Prisoners

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

Apart from the clear division and related distress that a prison sentence can cause, it is frequent for a woman to be deprived of guardianship of her children after just a limited duration in prison.

Numerous nations permit babies and young children to stay in prison with their mothers up to a specific age. Nonetheless, a youth experienced in incarceration can negatively affect a minor both bodily and psychologically.