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Current Global Women Prison Population

In excess of 733,000 women and girls are currently held in correctional facilities globally, as reported by recent analyses. This statistic includes both pre-trial detainees and those who have been convicted and sentenced. Researchers estimate the true count is substantially larger due to missing information from multiple nations.

Female inmates generally account for a small minority of national prison populations – usually between 2-9% on average. As of now, women and girls represent approximately 6.8% of the world's incarcerated individuals. However, their numbers are increasing at a quicker pace than incarcerated men.

Over the past two decades, the number of women and girls in prison has increased by almost three-fifths – roughly triple the increase 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.

Primary Drivers Behind the Growth

Female criminal activities are often linked to poverty and often constitute a way to support themselves to support their children and relatives.

Detailed analysis has found that regulations typically outlaw basic sustenance activities and that women are disproportionately affected because they are disproportionately represented among the poorest sectors of society. In various countries, laws criminalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution almost exclusively affect women. The likelihood of receiving a prison sentence is typically associated with poverty and the inability to pay fines for petty offenses or to obtain release.

Nations with the Greatest Women Inmate Numbers

The US has the largest number of female prisoners with 174,607. China comes next with 145,000, plus an undetermined count of women and girls in awaiting trial custody and "bureaucratic confinement. 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 the UK, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the complete incarceration statistics. Estimates suggest these numbers are anticipated to grow 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 complete incarceration numbers.

Nations with Significant Increases in Women Inmate Numbers

Although including standard demographic increases over the last quarter-century, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people still shows a remarkable increase. Cambodia and El Salvador have experienced over six times growth, while Turkey and Indonesia have seen increases over five times.

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 countries that execute the most women are similarly the nations that carry out the most capital punishments in general, namely China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As reported by recent documentation, an undetermined count 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 countries that execute the most 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 main offenses for which women are given capital punishment are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with mandatory death penalties for murder, or that fail to acknowledge gender-based violence as mitigating circumstances, are inclined to display higher numbers of women on death row and additional capital punishments.

Moreover, countries that severely criminalize drug trafficking, such as those in the Gulf region and Asian southeast, have a high proportion of women on death row.

Fitness of Imprisonment for Women

Numerous specialists and advocates argue that prison is unsuitable sanction for a large number of women who break the law. Most are incarcerated for non-aggressive offenses; in the UK, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fit this category. Women often encounter a "cyclical pattern of short prison sentences – inadequate duration to participate in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Approximately 80% of women in prison worldwide have an recognizable psychiatric disorder. In Europe, suicide rates for women in prison are nine times higher than for the overall public, according to the global health authority.

In answer to increasing figures of jailed women and a absence of guidelines reflecting their needs, the International Women Prisoner Standards (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 guarantee female-appropriate care in prisons.

Children of Female Prisoners

An approximated 19,000 children reside in correctional facilities with a parent, usually their mother, while a much larger quantity are separated from them. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a imprisoned parent.

Besides the clear division and connected hardship 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.

Numerous nations permit babies and young children to stay in prison with their mothers up to a specific age. Nevertheless, a childhood spent in prison can negatively affect a minor both physically and emotionally.