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Current Worldwide Women Prison Population

More than 733,000 women and girls are currently held in prison systems globally, based on latest analyses. This statistic encompasses both remand prisoners and those who have been found guilty and punished. Researchers estimate the actual total is substantially larger due to missing information from multiple countries.

Female inmates generally account for a limited percentage of overall inmate numbers – typically between 2-9% on average. Presently, women and girls represent approximately 6.8% of the international inmate count. Nevertheless, their population is growing at a faster rate than incarcerated men.

Since the year 2000, the female prison population in prison has grown by nearly 60% – almost three times the growth observed in the male inmate numbers. The global female prison population grew by exceeding 100,000 individuals during the decade-long span ending in 2020.

Main Causes Behind the Rise

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

Comprehensive research has found that legislation frequently penalizes basic sustenance activities and that women are unfairly targeted because they are over-represented among the most impoverished segments of society. In numerous countries, laws penalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution almost exclusively affect women. The likelihood of receiving a prison sentence is often also related to poverty and the lack of resources for fines for small infractions or to obtain release.

Countries with the Highest Incarcerated Women Statistics

The US has the highest count of female prisoners with 174,607. China follows with 145,000, plus an uncertain quantity 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. Forecasts show 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, amounting to approximately 8% of its complete incarceration numbers.

Nations with Substantial Rises in Women Inmate Numbers

Despite considering typical population expansion over the previous two-and-a-half decades, the rise in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people continues to demonstrate a substantial rise. El Salvador and Cambodia have experienced increases exceeding 600%, while Indonesia and Turkey have seen more than fivefold rises.

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 likewise the states that perform the highest number of executions in general, including China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Based on recent documentation, an unknown number of women were executed in China, while two were executed in Egypt, 30 in Iran, one in Iraq, nine in Saudi Arabia and two in Yemen.

Unreliable information is available for states with most frequent capital punishment or for nations like North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nevertheless, analysis is available for 15 other countries with the largest quantities of women on death row.

The main offenses 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 reducing factors, are inclined to display greater amounts of women on death row and frequent death sentences.

Furthermore, 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.

Appropriateness of Incarceration for Females

Numerous specialists and campaigners maintain that prison is inappropriate penalty for a large number of women who commit crimes. The majority are imprisoned for peaceful violations; in England and Wales, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fell into this classification. Women frequently experience a "cyclical pattern of short prison sentences – too brief to participate in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Up to 80% of women in prison worldwide have an diagnosable psychological condition. In Europe, self-harm statistics for women in prison are nine times higher than for the wider community, as reported by the global health authority.

In reaction to growing statistics of incarcerated women and a deficiency of regulations considering their circumstances, the United Nations Female Inmate Guidelines (known as the Bangkok Rules) were adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules mandate countries to create alternative punishments and to ensure gender-sensitive treatment in prisons.

Children of Female Prisoners

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

Apart from the obvious separation and connected hardship that a prison sentence can cause, it is not uncommon for a woman to be deprived of guardianship 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 certain age. Nonetheless, a youth experienced in incarceration can damage a child both in health and mental state.