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Current Worldwide Female Prison Population

Over 733,000 women and girls are detained in prison systems internationally, according to recent investigations. This number encompasses both awaiting trial prisoners and individuals already found guilty and punished. Researchers estimate the real number is much greater due to missing information from numerous states.

Females typically constitute a minor proportion of national prison populations – commonly between 2-9% on average. Currently, women and girls account for approximately 6.8% of the international inmate count. However, their population is growing at a faster rate than male inmates.

From the millennium onward, the female prison population in prison has expanded by approximately 60 percent – nearly thrice the rise 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 Rise

Female criminal activities are commonly connected to financial deprivation and often constitute a way to support themselves to provide for their families.

Detailed analysis has found that legislation frequently penalizes acts of survival and that women are unequally impacted because they are over-represented among the most impoverished segments of society. In various countries, laws criminalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution disproportionately target women. The probability of getting a prison sentence is frequently connected with poverty and the inability to pay fines for minor crimes or to secure bail.

Countries with the Greatest Women Inmate Numbers

The US has the highest count of female prisoners with 174,607. China ranks second with 145,000, plus an uncertain quantity of women and girls in pre-trial detention and "procedural custody. 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. Forecasts show these numbers are predicted to increase 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 complete incarceration numbers.

Countries with Major Growth in Women Inmate Numbers

Even accounting for normal population growth over the previous two-and-a-half decades, the rise in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people continues to demonstrate a remarkable increase. El Salvador and Cambodia have experienced over six times growth, while Turkey and Indonesia have seen growth exceeding 500%.

Women on Death Row

Recent estimates 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 carry out the most capital punishments in general, including China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As reported by latest reports, an unknown number 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 nations with highest execution rates or for additional countries including North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nevertheless, analysis is obtainable concerning 15 other countries with the highest numbers of females on death row.

The principal violations for which women are receiving execution orders are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with compulsory capital punishment for murder, or that fail to acknowledge gender-based violence as lessening conditions, are prone to exhibit greater amounts of women on death row and more executions.

Additionally, countries that severely criminalize drug trafficking, such as those in the Arabian Peninsula and Asian southeast, have a significant percentage of women on death row.

Suitability of Prison for Women

Numerous specialists and campaigners maintain that prison is inappropriate penalty 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 "repetitive cycle of short prison sentences – insufficiently long 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 general population, according to the World Health Organization.

In reaction to growing statistics of incarcerated women and a deficiency of regulations considering their circumstances, the United Nations Female Inmate Guidelines (known as the Bangkok Rules) were accepted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules oblige states to develop non-custodial sanctions and to ensure gender-sensitive treatment in prisons.

Children of Female Prisoners

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

Besides the evident parting and connected hardship that a prison sentence can cause, it is not uncommon for a woman to be deprived of guardianship of her children after just a short time in prison.

Numerous nations make provision for babies and young children to remain in correctional facilities with their mothers up to a specific age. Nevertheless, a early life in correctional facilities can negatively affect a minor both in health and mental state.