Worldwide Women Incarceration Statistics and Death Row Numbers

Current Global Female Prison Inmates

Over 733,000 women and girls are currently held in prison systems internationally, based on recent investigations. This number covers both pre-trial detainees and those who have been convicted and sentenced. Experts believe the true count is substantially larger due to unavailable statistics from several states.

Females typically constitute a minor proportion of overall inmate numbers – commonly between 2-9% on average. Presently, women and girls comprise approximately 6.8% of the international inmate count. Nevertheless, their figures are rising at a faster rate than male inmates.

Since the year 2000, the female prison population in prison has expanded by approximately 60 percent – roughly triple the increase 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 Increase

Women's lawbreaking are often associated with economic hardship and usually serve as a method of sustenance to provide for their families.

Detailed analysis has determined that laws often criminalize basic sustenance activities and that women are unequally impacted because they are more commonly found among the most impoverished segments of society. In many countries, laws prohibiting abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution primarily impact women. The probability of getting a prison sentence is often also related to poverty and the failure to afford fines for petty offenses or to secure bail.

Nations with the Greatest Women Inmate Numbers

The America has the largest number of female prisoners with 174,607. China comes next with 145,000, plus an unknown number of women and girls in remand imprisonment and "administrative detention". 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. Estimates suggest these numbers are expected to rise 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 Major Growth in Female Prison Populations

Despite considering standard demographic increases over the previous two-and-a-half decades, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people remains indicative of a significant growth. Cambodia and El Salvador have experienced over six times growth, while Indonesia and Turkey have seen growth exceeding 500%.

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 nations that put to death the most women are likewise the states that carry out the most capital punishments in general, including China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As reported by recent documentation, an undetermined count of women were executed in China, while two faced execution 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 additional countries including North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nonetheless, analysis is obtainable concerning 15 other countries with the most women on death row.

The principal violations for which women are sentenced to death are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with mandatory death penalties for murder, or that do not recognize gender-based violence as lessening conditions, are more likely to have increased quantities of women on death row and more executions.

Additionally, countries that strictly prohibit drug trafficking, such as those in the Gulf region and southeast Asia, have a substantial ratio of women on death row.

Fitness of Imprisonment for Women

Numerous specialists and advocates maintain that prison is not a suitable punishment for a substantial percentage of women who break the law. Most are incarcerated for non-violent crimes; in England and Wales, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fit this category. Women commonly face a "cyclical pattern of limited imprisonment terms – inadequate duration to engage in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

As many as 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 wider community, based on the WHO.

In reaction to increasing figures of jailed women and a lack of standards reflecting their needs, 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 create alternative punishments and to ensure gender-sensitive treatment in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An calculated 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 mother in prison.

Apart from the evident parting and connected hardship that a prison sentence can cause, it is quite common for a woman to forfeit parental rights of her children after just a short time in prison.

Numerous nations allow for babies and young children to remain in correctional facilities with their mothers up to a particular maturity level. However, a early life in correctional facilities can harm a young person both in health and mental state.