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Current Worldwide Female Prison Population

More than 733,000 women and girls are currently held in penal institutions internationally, according to recent investigations. This number includes both awaiting trial prisoners and those who have been found guilty and punished. Researchers estimate the real number is significantly higher due to incomplete data from multiple countries.

Females typically constitute a minor proportion of correctional system demographics – typically between 2-9% on average. As of now, women and girls account for approximately 6.8% of the global prison population. Nonetheless, their figures are rising at a faster rate than male inmates.

Since the year 2000, the number of women and girls in prison has increased by almost three-fifths – almost three times the rise observed in the incarcerated male demographic. The global female prison population rose by over 100,000 individuals during the decade-long span ending in 2020.

Main Causes Behind the Increase

Female criminal activities are frequently associated with economic hardship and typically represent a way to support themselves to provide for their families.

Extensive studies has established that legislation frequently penalizes essential livelihood measures and that women are unfairly targeted because they are more commonly found among the most impoverished segments of society. In various 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 lack of resources for fines for minor crimes or to secure bail.

Nations with the Largest Female Prison Populations

The US has the greatest quantity of female prisoners with 174,607. China comes next with 145,000, plus an undetermined count of women and girls in pre-trial detention and "procedural custody. 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 Britain, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the overall inmate count. Projections indicate 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, constituting approximately 8% of its overall inmate demographic.

Nations with Substantial Rises in Women Inmate Numbers

Despite considering typical population expansion over the previous two-and-a-half decades, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people still shows a substantial rise. These two nations have experienced increases exceeding 600%, while Turkey and Indonesia have seen more than fivefold rises.

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 likewise the states that perform the highest number of executions in general, including China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. According to current records, an undetermined count of women were put to death in China, while two were executed in Egypt, 30 in Iran, one in Iraq, nine in Saudi Arabia and two in Yemen.

Incomplete statistics is available for states with most frequent capital punishment or for others such as North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. However, analysis is accessible regarding 15 other countries with the largest quantities of women on death row.

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

Furthermore, 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.

Fitness of Prison for Women

Numerous specialists and activists contend that prison is not a suitable punishment for a large number of women who violate regulations. The majority are imprisoned for peaceful violations; in the UK, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fell into this classification. Women often encounter a "cyclical pattern of brief incarceration periods – too brief to engage in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Up to 80% of women in prison worldwide have an recognizable psychiatric disorder. In Europe, self-harm statistics for women in prison are nine times higher than for the general population, as reported by the WHO.

In reaction to growing statistics of jailed women and a deficiency of regulations considering their circumstances, the International Women Prisoner Standards (known as the Bangkok Rules) were adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules mandate countries to develop non-custodial sanctions and to provide women-specific consideration in prisons.

Children of Female Prisoners

An calculated 19,000 children live in prison with a parent, typically their mother, while a much larger quantity are divided from their parents. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a mother in prison.

Besides the obvious separation and related distress that a prison sentence can cause, it is not uncommon for a woman to lose custody of her children after just a brief period in prison.

Various states allow for babies and young children to stay in prison with their mothers up to a specific age. However, a youth experienced in incarceration can damage a child both in health and mental state.