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Current Worldwide Female Prison Inmates

Over 733,000 women and girls are confined in correctional facilities internationally, as reported by current investigations. This number covers both awaiting trial prisoners and individuals already convicted and sentenced. Researchers estimate the true count is significantly higher due to unavailable statistics from multiple nations.

Females typically constitute a limited percentage of national prison populations – commonly between 2-9% on average. Currently, women and girls comprise approximately 6.8% of the global prison population. However, their numbers are increasing at a faster rate than incarcerated men.

Over the past two decades, the number of women and girls in prison has expanded by approximately 60 percent – almost three times the increase observed in the male prison population. The worldwide women inmate count grew by exceeding 100,000 individuals during the ten-year period ending in 2020.

Primary Drivers Behind the Increase

Female criminal activities are commonly connected to financial deprivation and often constitute a means of survival to provide for their families.

Detailed analysis has determined that laws often criminalize basic sustenance activities and that women are unfairly targeted because they are over-represented among the lowest economic brackets of society. In numerous countries, laws penalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution almost exclusively affect women. The chance of being given a prison sentence is frequently connected with poverty and the lack of resources for fines for minor crimes or to obtain release.

Countries with the Largest Incarcerated Women Statistics

The US has the largest number 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". Other significant 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 the UK, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the total prison population. Estimates suggest 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, amounting to approximately 8% of its complete incarceration numbers.

States with Significant Increases in Women Inmate Numbers

Despite considering normal population growth over the previous two-and-a-half decades, the surge in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people remains indicative of a substantial rise. El Salvador and Cambodia have experienced increases exceeding 600%, while Indonesia and Turkey have seen growth exceeding 500%.

Female Capital Punishment Cases

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 execute the most people in general, namely China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As reported by recent documentation, 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 nations with highest execution rates or for additional countries including North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nonetheless, analysis is accessible regarding 15 other countries with the highest numbers of females on death row.

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

Moreover, countries that harshly penalize drug trafficking, such as those in the Arabian Peninsula and Asian southeast, have a substantial ratio of women on death row.

Appropriateness of Imprisonment for Women

Numerous specialists and campaigners contend that prison is not a suitable punishment for a significant portion 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 limited imprisonment terms – insufficiently long to engage in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Approximately 80% of women in prison worldwide have an recognizable psychiatric disorder. In Europe, self-destruction numbers for women in prison are nine times higher than for the wider community, as reported by the global health authority.

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 oblige states to establish non-imprisonment penalties and to ensure gender-sensitive treatment in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An approximated 19,000 children dwell in incarceration centers with a parent, usually their mother, while significantly more children are divided from their parents. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a mother in prison.

Besides the obvious separation and associated suffering 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 live in incarceration centers with their mothers up to a specific age. Nevertheless, a childhood spent in prison can negatively affect a minor both in health and mental state.