🔗 Share this article

Current Global Female Prison Inmates

More than 733,000 women and girls are detained in correctional facilities globally, as reported by current research studies. This number encompasses both remand prisoners and those who have been convicted and sentenced. Experts believe the actual total is much greater due to missing information from numerous countries.

Women consistently represent a minor proportion of correctional system demographics – typically between 2-9% on average. Presently, women and girls comprise approximately 6.8% of the world's incarcerated individuals. However, their numbers are increasing at a faster rate than incarcerated men.

Over the past two decades, the female prison population in prison has expanded by approximately 60 percent – roughly triple the increase observed in the incarcerated male demographic. The global female prison population increased by more than 100,000 individuals during the decade-long span ending in 2020.

Primary Drivers Behind the Growth

Women's lawbreaking are often associated with economic hardship and often constitute a way to support themselves to care for their dependents.

Detailed analysis has found that legislation frequently penalizes essential livelihood measures and that women are unfairly targeted because they are over-represented among the most impoverished segments of society. In numerous countries, laws penalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution primarily impact women. The probability of getting a prison sentence is often also related to poverty and the failure to afford fines for petty offenses or to secure bail.

Countries with the Highest Incarcerated Women Statistics

The US has the highest count of female prisoners with 174,607. China comes next with 145,000, plus an undetermined count of women and girls in awaiting trial custody and "bureaucratic confinement. 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 Britain, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the total prison population. Estimates suggest these numbers are expected to rise to 4,200 by 2027. Across Europe, 94,472 women are currently detained, while Australia reports 3,473 women in prison, amounting to approximately 8% of its total prison population.

Nations with Major Growth in Women Inmate Numbers

Although including normal population growth over the past 25 years, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people still shows a significant growth. El Salvador and Cambodia have experienced increases exceeding 600%, 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 also the countries that carry out the most capital punishments in general, specifically China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Based on latest reports, an unknown number of women were executed 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 nations like North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nevertheless, 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 compulsory capital punishment for murder, or that refuse to consider gender-based violence as reducing factors, are more likely to have greater amounts of women on death row and more executions.

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

Suitability of Incarceration for Females

Various professionals and campaigners contend that prison is not a suitable punishment for a large number of women who commit crimes. The majority are imprisoned for non-aggressive offenses; in the UK, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 belonged to this group. Women commonly face a "revolving door" of short prison sentences – inadequate duration to participate 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 overall public, as reported by the WHO.

In answer to rising numbers of imprisoned females and a absence of guidelines reflecting their needs, the United Nations Female Inmate Guidelines (known as the Bangkok Rules) were adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules oblige states to create alternative punishments and to provide women-specific consideration in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An approximated 19,000 children reside in correctional facilities with a parent, typically their mother, while many times that number are separated from them. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a imprisoned parent.

Besides the clear division and connected hardship that a prison sentence can cause, it is quite common for a woman to lose custody of her children after just a brief period in prison.

Numerous nations make provision for babies and young children to live in incarceration centers with their mothers up to a certain age. Nonetheless, a early life in correctional facilities can harm a young person both bodily and psychologically.