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Present Worldwide Women Prison Inmates

In excess of 733,000 women and girls are confined in prison systems worldwide, according to latest research studies. This number includes both pre-trial detainees and those who have been convicted and sentenced. Researchers estimate the actual total is much greater due to missing information from multiple countries.

Female inmates generally account for a limited percentage of national prison populations – typically between 2-9% on average. Presently, women and girls represent approximately 6.8% of the world's incarcerated individuals. However, their figures are rising at a quicker pace than incarcerated men.

Over the past two decades, the number of women and girls in prison has expanded by approximately 60 percent – nearly thrice the growth observed in the incarcerated male demographic. 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 frequently connected to financial deprivation and usually serve as a means of survival to support their children and relatives.

Comprehensive research has found that laws often criminalize essential livelihood measures and that women are unfairly targeted because they are disproportionately represented among the most impoverished segments of society. In various countries, laws prohibiting abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution almost exclusively affect women. The probability of getting a prison sentence is frequently connected with poverty and the lack of resources for fines for small infractions or to obtain release.

Nations with the Greatest Female Prison Populations

The US has the highest count of female prisoners with 174,607. China comes next with 145,000, plus an unknown number of women and girls in remand imprisonment 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 total prison population. Forecasts show 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, representing approximately 8% of its total prison population.

States with Substantial Rises in Women Inmate Numbers

Despite considering standard demographic increases over the last quarter-century, the surge in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people continues to demonstrate a remarkable increase. These two nations have experienced more than sixfold increases, while Turkey and Indonesia have seen increases over five times.

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 similarly the nations that perform the highest number of executions in general, specifically China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. According to recent documentation, an uncertain quantity of women were executed in China, while two faced execution in Egypt, 30 in Iran, one in Iraq, nine in Saudi Arabia and two in Yemen.

Unreliable information is available for states with most frequent capital punishment or for additional countries including North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nonetheless, analysis is accessible regarding 15 other countries with the most women on death row.

The two primary crimes for which women are sentenced to death are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with mandatory death penalties for murder, or that do not recognize gender-based violence as lessening conditions, are inclined to display greater amounts of women on death row and additional capital punishments.

Additionally, countries that harshly penalize drug trafficking, such as those in the Gulf region and southeast Asia, have a significant percentage of women on death row.

Suitability of Prison for Women

Various professionals and activists contend that prison is unsuitable sanction for a substantial percentage of women who break the law. The majority are imprisoned for non-violent crimes; in England and Wales, 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.

As many as 80% of women in prison worldwide have an identifiable mental illness. In Europe, self-destruction numbers for women in prison are nine times higher than for the overall public, as reported by the World Health Organization.

In response to rising numbers of incarcerated women and a deficiency of regulations addressing their requirements, the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners (known as the Bangkok Rules) were approved by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules require nations to develop non-custodial sanctions and to guarantee female-appropriate care in prisons.

Kids with Imprisoned Mothers

An calculated 19,000 children live in prison with a parent, most often their mother, while significantly more children are separated from them. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a mother in prison.

Besides the evident parting and related distress that a prison sentence can cause, it is frequent for a woman to forfeit parental rights of her children after just a brief period in prison.

Many countries make provision for babies and young children to live in incarceration centers with their mothers up to a specific age. However, a youth experienced in incarceration can negatively affect a minor both physically and emotionally.