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Current Global Female Prison Population

More than 733,000 women and girls are currently held in prison systems internationally, according to current research studies. This figure encompasses both remand prisoners and individuals already found guilty and punished. Analysts suggest the real number is significantly higher due to incomplete data from numerous countries.

Female inmates generally account for a minor proportion of national prison populations – commonly between 2-9% on average. Presently, women and girls account for approximately 6.8% of the world's incarcerated individuals. However, their figures are rising at a more rapid tempo than incarcerated men.

Since the year 2000, the female prison population in prison has grown by nearly 60% – nearly thrice the growth observed in the male inmate numbers. The global female prison population rose by over 100,000 individuals during the ten-year interval ending in 2020.

Primary Drivers Behind the Rise

Women's lawbreaking are commonly associated with economic hardship and usually serve as a way to support themselves to support their children and relatives.

Detailed analysis has found that laws often criminalize essential livelihood measures and that women are unequally impacted because they are disproportionately represented among the lowest economic brackets of society. In numerous countries, laws criminalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution primarily impact women. The chance of being given a prison sentence is often also related to poverty and the inability to pay fines for small infractions or to obtain release.

Nations with the Highest Incarcerated Women Statistics

The United States has the largest number of female prisoners with 174,607. China ranks second with 145,000, plus an undetermined count of women and girls in pre-trial detention and "bureaucratic confinement. 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 the UK, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the complete incarceration statistics. Projections indicate these numbers are predicted to increase to 4,200 by 2027. Across Europe, 94,472 women are currently detained, while Australia reports 3,473 women in prison, constituting approximately 8% of its total prison population.

Nations with Major Growth in Women Inmate Numbers

Even accounting for typical population expansion over the last quarter-century, the rise in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people still shows a remarkable increase. These two nations have experienced over six times growth, 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 states that carry out executions on the most women are likewise the states that perform the highest number of executions in general, specifically China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As reported by current records, an undetermined count 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.

No accurate data is available for states with most frequent capital punishment or for others such as North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. However, analysis is available for 15 other countries with the largest quantities of women on death row.

The two primary crimes for which women are sentenced to death are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with compulsory capital punishment for murder, or that fail to acknowledge gender-based violence as reducing factors, are prone to exhibit greater amounts of women on death row and additional capital punishments.

Additionally, countries that severely criminalize drug trafficking, such as those in the Arabian Peninsula and Oriental southeast, have a substantial ratio of women on death row.

Suitability of Incarceration for Females

Various professionals and activists contend that prison is unsuitable sanction for a substantial percentage of women who violate regulations. Many are jailed for non-violent crimes; in England and Wales, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fit this category. Women frequently experience a "revolving door" of short prison sentences – insufficiently long to participate in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Approximately 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 general population, according to the WHO.

In reaction to growing statistics of imprisoned females and a lack of standards addressing their requirements, the International Women Prisoner Standards (known as the Bangkok Rules) were adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules require nations to develop non-custodial sanctions and to provide women-specific consideration in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An approximated 19,000 children dwell in incarceration centers with a parent, usually their mother, while many times that number are separated from them. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a imprisoned parent.

Besides the evident parting and associated suffering that a prison sentence can cause, it is not uncommon for a woman to forfeit parental rights of her children after just a brief period in prison.

Various states allow for babies and young children to remain in correctional facilities with their mothers up to a particular maturity level. However, a youth experienced in incarceration can negatively affect a minor both bodily and psychologically.