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Current Global Women Prison Population

Over 733,000 women and girls are detained in correctional facilities globally, based on latest analyses. This statistic encompasses both remand prisoners and those who have been found guilty and punished. Experts believe the real number is much greater due to incomplete data from numerous states.

Females typically constitute a limited percentage of overall inmate numbers – commonly between 2-9% on average. As of now, women and girls comprise approximately 6.8% of the world's incarcerated individuals. Nonetheless, their figures are rising at a more rapid tempo than male prisoners.

Since the year 2000, the incarcerated females in prison has grown by nearly 60% – nearly thrice the increase observed in the male prison population. The international incarcerated women statistics rose by over 100,000 individuals during the decade-long span ending in 2020.

Primary Drivers Behind the Growth

Women's lawbreaking are frequently associated with economic hardship and typically represent a way to support themselves to support their children and relatives.

Comprehensive research has determined that regulations typically outlaw acts of survival and that women are unequally impacted because they are over-represented among the most impoverished segments of society. In many countries, laws prohibiting abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution primarily impact women. The probability of getting a prison sentence is typically associated with poverty and the inability to pay fines for small infractions or to secure bail.

States with the Highest Female Prison Populations

The US has the greatest quantity of female prisoners with 174,607. China follows with 145,000, plus an undetermined count of women and girls in awaiting trial custody and "bureaucratic confinement. Additional major sources 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 complete incarceration statistics. Projections indicate 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, representing approximately 8% of its overall inmate demographic.

States with Significant Increases in Women Inmate Numbers

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 remains indicative of a substantial rise. These two nations have experienced increases exceeding 600%, while Indonesia and Turkey have seen growth exceeding 500%.

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 also the countries that execute the most people in general, including China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. According to recent documentation, an uncertain quantity of women were given capital punishment in China, while two were executed 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 fail to acknowledge gender-based violence as reducing factors, are more likely to have increased quantities of women on death row and more executions.

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

Suitability of Prison for Women

Many experts and activists argue that prison is unsuitable sanction for a significant portion of women who violate regulations. Many are jailed for non-aggressive offenses; in the UK, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 belonged to this group. Women often encounter a "repetitive cycle of brief incarceration periods – too brief to participate in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Up to 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 increasing figures 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 require nations to create alternative punishments and to provide women-specific consideration in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An estimated 19,000 children live in prison with a parent, most often their mother, while significantly more children are divided from their parents. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a incarcerated mother.

In addition to the obvious separation and connected hardship that a prison sentence can cause, it is quite common for a woman to be deprived of guardianship of her children after just a brief period in prison.

Many countries allow for babies and young children to remain in correctional facilities with their mothers up to a specific age. However, a early life in correctional facilities can negatively affect a minor both in health and mental state.