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Current Global Women Prison Inmates

Over 733,000 women and girls are currently held in penal institutions internationally, based on recent investigations. This number covers both remand prisoners and those who have been found guilty and punished. Researchers estimate the actual total is significantly higher due to missing information from several countries.

Females typically constitute a small minority of correctional system demographics – typically between 2-9% on average. Currently, women and girls comprise approximately 6.8% of the world's incarcerated individuals. However, their figures are rising at a more rapid tempo than incarcerated men.

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

Key Factors Behind the Rise

Women's lawbreaking are often connected to financial deprivation and often constitute a method of sustenance to provide for their families.

Comprehensive research has found that laws often criminalize essential livelihood measures and that women are disproportionately affected because they are more commonly found among the lowest economic brackets of society. In various countries, laws criminalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution almost exclusively affect women. The probability of getting a prison sentence is frequently connected with poverty and the inability to pay fines for small infractions or to secure bail.

States with the Largest Women Inmate Numbers

The United States has the highest count of female prisoners with 174,607. China comes next with 145,000, plus an undetermined count of women and girls in remand imprisonment and "procedural custody. 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 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, representing approximately 8% of its total prison population.

Countries with Major Growth in Female Prison Populations

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. Cambodia and El Salvador have experienced more than sixfold increases, while Indonesia and Turkey have seen more than fivefold rises.

Incarcerated Women Facing Execution

Recent estimates 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 carry out the most capital punishments in general, including China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As reported by current records, an uncertain quantity of women were given capital punishment 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 nations with highest execution rates or for others such as North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. However, analysis is available for 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 required execution sentences for murder, or that do not recognize gender-based violence as reducing factors, are inclined to display increased quantities of women on death row and more executions.

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.

Suitability of Imprisonment for Women

Many experts and campaigners contend that prison is not a suitable punishment for a substantial percentage of women who commit crimes. Many are jailed for non-violent crimes; in England and Wales, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fit this category. Women often encounter a "revolving door" of brief incarceration periods – inadequate duration to engage in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Approximately 80% of women in prison worldwide have an identifiable mental illness. In Europe, self-destruction numbers for women in prison are nine times higher than for the general population, according to the global health authority.

In response to growing statistics of jailed women and a deficiency of regulations addressing their requirements, the International Women Prisoner Standards (known as the Bangkok Rules) were accepted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules mandate countries to create alternative punishments and to ensure gender-sensitive treatment in prisons.

Kids with Imprisoned Mothers

An approximated 19,000 children reside in correctional facilities with a parent, typically their mother, while many times that number are separated from them. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a incarcerated mother.

Besides the evident parting and related distress 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 make provision for babies and young children to stay in prison with their mothers up to a certain age. However, a youth experienced in incarceration can harm a young person both physically and emotionally.