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Current Global Women Prison Inmates

In excess of 733,000 women and girls are confined in penal institutions globally, according to latest analyses. This statistic encompasses both pre-trial detainees and individuals already convicted and sentenced. Experts believe the real number is much greater due to incomplete data from several nations.

Female inmates generally account for a limited percentage of correctional system demographics – commonly between 2-9% on average. As of now, women and girls account for approximately 6.8% of the world's incarcerated individuals. However, their population is growing at a more rapid tempo than male inmates.

Over the past two decades, the incarcerated females in prison has expanded by approximately 60 percent – roughly triple the rise observed in the male inmate numbers. The international incarcerated women statistics grew by exceeding 100,000 individuals during the ten-year period ending in 2020.

Key Factors Behind the Increase

Offenses committed by women are often associated with economic hardship and often constitute a way to support themselves to care for their dependents.

Comprehensive research has determined 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 many countries, laws criminalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution primarily impact women. The probability of getting a prison sentence is typically associated with poverty and the lack of resources for fines for small infractions or to obtain release.

Nations with the Greatest Female Prison Populations

The United States has the largest number of female prisoners with 174,607. China ranks second with 145,000, plus an unknown number of women and girls in remand imprisonment and "administrative detention". 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 the UK, 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 imprisoned, while Australia reports 3,473 women in prison, amounting to approximately 8% of its overall inmate demographic.

States with Significant Increases in Female Prison Populations

Despite considering typical population expansion over the past 25 years, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people still shows a significant growth. These two nations have experienced increases exceeding 600%, while Turkey and Indonesia have seen growth exceeding 500%.

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 also the countries that carry out the most capital punishments in general, namely China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Based on current records, an unknown number of women were executed in China, while two were executed in Egypt, 30 in Iran, one in Iraq, nine in Saudi Arabia and two in Yemen.

No accurate data is available for nations with highest execution rates or for additional countries including North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. However, analysis is available for 15 other countries with the largest quantities of women 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 do not recognize gender-based violence as reducing factors, are inclined to display increased quantities of women on death row and more executions.

Additionally, countries that strictly prohibit drug trafficking, such as those in the Middle East and Asian southeast, have a significant percentage of women on death row.

Fitness of Imprisonment for Women

Various professionals and activists argue that prison is unsuitable sanction for a substantial percentage of women who commit crimes. Many are jailed for non-violent crimes; in Britain, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 belonged to this group. Women commonly face a "repetitive cycle of limited imprisonment terms – too brief to take part in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

As many as 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, based on the global health authority.

In response to increasing figures of incarcerated women and a lack of standards considering their circumstances, 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 oblige states to develop non-custodial sanctions and to guarantee female-appropriate care in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An approximated 19,000 children reside in correctional facilities with a parent, usually their mother, while many times that number are divided from their parents. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a mother in prison.

Apart from the clear division and associated suffering that a prison sentence can cause, it is frequent for a woman to be deprived of guardianship of her children after just a brief period in prison.

Many countries make provision for babies and young children to stay in prison with their mothers up to a specific age. However, a childhood spent in prison can harm a young person both physically and emotionally.