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Present Global Female Prison Inmates

More than 733,000 women and girls are currently held in prison systems internationally, according to current investigations. This statistic encompasses both awaiting trial prisoners and individuals already convicted and sentenced. Researchers estimate the true count is significantly higher due to missing information from multiple nations.

Women consistently represent a small minority of overall inmate numbers – typically between 2-9% on average. Currently, women and girls represent approximately 6.8% of the global prison population. Nonetheless, their figures are rising at a quicker pace than incarcerated men.

Over the past two decades, the number of women and girls in prison has grown by nearly 60% – almost three times the increase observed in the male inmate numbers. The international incarcerated women statistics increased by more than 100,000 individuals during the ten-year period ending in 2020.

Key Factors Behind the Rise

Female criminal activities are frequently connected to financial deprivation and usually serve as a means of survival to care for their dependents.

Comprehensive research has found that regulations typically outlaw essential livelihood measures and that women are disproportionately affected because they are over-represented among the lowest economic brackets of society. In many countries, laws penalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution disproportionately target women. The probability of getting a prison sentence is often also related to poverty and the lack of resources for fines for small infractions or to arrange temporary freedom.

Countries with the Greatest Incarcerated Women Statistics

The United States has the greatest quantity of female prisoners with 174,607. China ranks second with 145,000, plus an unknown number of women and girls in awaiting trial custody and "procedural custody. 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 England and Wales, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the overall inmate count. Projections indicate these numbers are predicted to increase 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 overall inmate demographic.

Nations with Significant Increases in Incarcerated Women Statistics

Although including typical population expansion over the previous two-and-a-half decades, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people continues to demonstrate a remarkable increase. These two nations have experienced increases exceeding 600%, while these countries have seen increases over five times.

Female Capital Punishment Cases

Current calculations 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 execute the most people in general, namely China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. According to latest reports, an unknown number 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 states with most frequent capital punishment or for additional countries including North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nevertheless, analysis is accessible regarding 15 other countries with the most 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 mitigating circumstances, are inclined to display increased quantities of women on death row and more executions.

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

Suitability of Prison for Women

Numerous specialists and advocates contend that prison is unsuitable sanction for a large number of women who violate regulations. Most are incarcerated for non-aggressive offenses; in Britain, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fit this category. Women commonly face a "revolving door" of short prison sentences – insufficiently long to take part in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Up to 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 general population, based on the World Health Organization.

In reaction to rising numbers of imprisoned females and a deficiency of regulations reflecting their needs, the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners (known as the Bangkok Rules) were adopted 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 estimated 19,000 children dwell in incarceration centers with a parent, typically their mother, while significantly more children are apart from their mothers. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a incarcerated mother.

Besides the obvious separation and related distress that a prison sentence can cause, it is quite common for a woman to lose custody of her children after just a brief period in prison.

Various states permit babies and young children to live in incarceration centers with their mothers up to a specific age. Nevertheless, a childhood spent in prison can harm a young person both bodily and psychologically.