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Current Worldwide Women Prison Population

More than 733,000 women and girls are currently held in prison systems globally, according to latest research studies. This statistic encompasses both remand prisoners and individuals already convicted and sentenced. Analysts suggest the true count is significantly higher due to unavailable statistics from several nations.

Female inmates generally account for a limited percentage of correctional system demographics – typically between 2-9% on average. Presently, women and girls represent approximately 6.8% of the world's incarcerated individuals. Nonetheless, their population is growing at a more rapid tempo 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 increase observed in the incarcerated male demographic. The international incarcerated women statistics increased by more than 100,000 individuals during the ten-year period ending in 2020.

Key Factors Behind the Increase

Female criminal activities are often connected to financial deprivation and usually serve as a way to support themselves to provide for their families.

Detailed analysis has determined that regulations typically outlaw basic sustenance activities and that women are disproportionately affected because they are over-represented among the lowest economic brackets of society. In many countries, laws prohibiting abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution primarily impact women. The chance of being given a prison sentence is often also related to poverty and the inability to pay fines for minor crimes or to secure bail.

States with the Greatest Women Inmate Numbers

The US has the greatest quantity of female prisoners with 174,607. China ranks second with 145,000, plus an uncertain quantity of women and girls in awaiting trial custody and "procedural custody. 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. Estimates suggest these numbers are predicted to increase 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.

Nations with Substantial Rises in Women Inmate Numbers

Even accounting for typical population expansion over the last quarter-century, the rise in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people continues to demonstrate a substantial rise. El Salvador and Cambodia have experienced increases exceeding 600%, while Turkey and Indonesia have seen growth exceeding 500%.

Incarcerated Women Facing Execution

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 similarly the nations that execute the most people in general, specifically China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. According to recent documentation, an uncertain quantity of women were given capital punishment 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 nations with highest execution rates or for additional countries including North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nevertheless, analysis is accessible regarding 15 other countries with the most women on death row.

The two primary crimes for which women are receiving execution orders are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with mandatory death penalties for murder, or that refuse to consider gender-based violence as reducing factors, are prone to exhibit increased quantities of women on death row and additional capital punishments.

Additionally, countries that harshly penalize drug trafficking, such as those in the Middle East and southeast Asia, have a high proportion of women on death row.

Suitability of Prison for Women

Numerous specialists and activists maintain that prison is unsuitable sanction for a large number of women who commit crimes. Many are jailed for non-aggressive offenses; in England and Wales, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fell into this classification. Women commonly face a "repetitive cycle of limited imprisonment terms – insufficiently long to engage in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

As many as 80% of women in prison worldwide have an diagnosable psychological condition. In Europe, self-harm statistics for women in prison are nine times higher than for the general population, as reported by the World Health Organization.

In reaction to rising numbers of imprisoned females 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 require nations to develop non-custodial sanctions and to ensure gender-sensitive treatment in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

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

Apart from the obvious separation and connected hardship that a prison sentence can cause, it is frequent for a woman to lose custody 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 youth experienced in incarceration can harm a young person both bodily and psychologically.