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Current Global Female Prison Population

More than 733,000 women and girls are confined in penal institutions globally, based on recent analyses. This statistic includes both awaiting trial prisoners and those who have been convicted and sentenced. Researchers estimate the real number is significantly higher due to missing information from several states.

Female inmates generally account for a small minority of national prison populations – typically between 2-9% on average. Presently, women and girls account for approximately 6.8% of the global prison population. However, their figures are rising at a quicker pace than incarcerated men.

Over the past two decades, the incarcerated females in prison has grown by nearly 60% – almost three times the growth observed in the male inmate numbers. The worldwide women inmate count increased by more than 100,000 individuals during the ten-year period ending in 2020.

Key Factors Behind the Increase

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

Extensive studies has determined that legislation frequently penalizes essential livelihood measures and that women are disproportionately affected because they are more commonly found among the poorest sectors of society. In numerous countries, laws prohibiting abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution disproportionately target women. The likelihood of receiving a prison sentence is often also related to poverty and the failure to afford fines for small infractions or to obtain release.

States with the Highest Female Prison Populations

The US has the greatest quantity of female prisoners with 174,607. China comes next with 145,000, plus an uncertain quantity of women and girls in remand imprisonment and "administrative detention". Further substantial 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 complete incarceration statistics. Projections indicate 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, representing approximately 8% of its complete incarceration numbers.

Countries with Substantial Rises in Incarcerated Women Statistics

Even accounting for normal population growth over the past 25 years, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people continues to demonstrate a significant growth. These two nations have experienced more than sixfold increases, while Turkey and Indonesia 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 states that carry out executions on the most women are similarly the nations that carry out the most capital punishments in general, namely China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. According to current records, an unknown number 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.

Incomplete statistics is available for countries that execute the most or for others such as North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nonetheless, analysis is available for 15 other countries with the highest numbers of females on death row.

The main offenses for which women are given capital punishment are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with required execution sentences for murder, or that do not recognize gender-based violence as lessening conditions, are inclined to display higher numbers of women on death row and additional capital punishments.

Moreover, countries that strictly prohibit drug trafficking, such as those in the Gulf region and Asian southeast, have a substantial ratio of women on death row.

Fitness of Imprisonment for Women

Numerous specialists and campaigners maintain that prison is unsuitable sanction for a substantial percentage of women who violate regulations. Most are incarcerated for non-aggressive offenses; in Britain, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fell into this classification. Women frequently experience a "repetitive cycle of brief incarceration periods – insufficiently long to engage in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Up to 80% of women in prison worldwide have an diagnosable psychological condition. In Europe, self-destruction numbers for women in prison are nine times higher than for the general population, based on the World Health Organization.

In reaction to growing statistics of incarcerated women and a deficiency of regulations addressing their requirements, the United Nations Female Inmate Guidelines (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 provide women-specific consideration in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An estimated 19,000 children reside in correctional facilities with a parent, typically their mother, while significantly more children are divided from their parents. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a mother in prison.

Apart from the obvious separation and associated suffering that a prison sentence can cause, it is quite common for a woman to be deprived of guardianship of her children after just a limited duration in prison.

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