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Present Global Female Prison Inmates

In excess of 733,000 women and girls are confined in penal institutions worldwide, based on latest investigations. This number covers both remand prisoners and those who have been convicted and sentenced. Analysts suggest the actual total is significantly higher due to incomplete data from numerous states.

Women consistently represent a limited percentage of national prison populations – typically between 2-9% on average. Currently, women and girls represent approximately 6.8% of the global prison population. However, their population is growing at a faster rate than male inmates.

From the millennium onward, the number of women and girls in prison has grown by nearly 60% – nearly thrice the rise observed in the male inmate numbers. The worldwide women inmate count grew by exceeding 100,000 individuals during the ten-year interval ending in 2020.

Primary Drivers Behind the Increase

Offenses committed by women are often connected to financial deprivation and often constitute a method of sustenance to care for their dependents.

Extensive studies has found that regulations typically outlaw essential livelihood measures and that women are unequally impacted because they are more commonly found among the lowest economic brackets of society. In numerous countries, laws prohibiting abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution disproportionately target women. The chance of being given a prison sentence is frequently connected with poverty and the lack of resources for fines for petty offenses or to secure bail.

Countries with the Highest Incarcerated Women Statistics

The United States has the greatest quantity of female prisoners with 174,607. China follows with 145,000, plus an uncertain quantity of women and girls in pre-trial detention and "bureaucratic confinement. 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 total prison population. Projections indicate these numbers are anticipated to grow to 4,200 by 2027. Across Europe, 94,472 women are currently imprisoned, while Australia reports 3,473 women in prison, constituting approximately 8% of its overall inmate demographic.

Countries with Significant Increases in Women Inmate Numbers

Even accounting for typical population expansion over the past 25 years, the rise in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people still shows a substantial rise. Cambodia and El Salvador have experienced more than sixfold increases, while Turkey and Indonesia have seen growth exceeding 500%.

Women on Death Row

Recent estimates 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 likewise the states that carry out the most capital punishments in general, including China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Based on 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.

No accurate data is available for nations with highest execution rates or for others such as North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nonetheless, analysis is accessible regarding 15 other countries with the highest numbers of females on death row.

The principal violations for which women are given capital punishment are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with compulsory capital punishment for murder, or that fail to acknowledge gender-based violence as reducing factors, are more likely to have greater amounts of women on death row and frequent death sentences.

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

Suitability of Imprisonment for Women

Many experts and campaigners contend that prison is inappropriate penalty for a significant portion of women who break the law. The majority are imprisoned for non-violent crimes; in England and Wales, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fell into this classification. Women commonly face a "repetitive cycle of limited imprisonment terms – inadequate duration to engage in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Up to 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 overall public, as reported by the global health authority.

In reaction to rising numbers of jailed women and a absence of guidelines reflecting their needs, 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 establish non-imprisonment penalties and to provide women-specific consideration in prisons.

Children of Female Prisoners

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

Apart from the clear division and connected hardship that a prison sentence can cause, it is frequent for a woman to lose custody of her children after just a short time in prison.

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