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Current Worldwide Female Prison Inmates

Over 733,000 women and girls are currently held in prison systems internationally, according to current analyses. This number includes both remand prisoners and individuals already found guilty and punished. Experts believe the true count is much greater due to missing information from numerous countries.

Female inmates generally account for a small minority of national prison populations – typically between 2-9% on average. As of now, women and girls comprise approximately 6.8% of the international inmate count. Nevertheless, their numbers are increasing at a quicker pace than male prisoners.

Over the past two decades, the female prison population in prison has increased by almost three-fifths – roughly triple the growth observed in the male inmate numbers. The worldwide women inmate count rose by over 100,000 individuals during the ten-year period ending in 2020.

Primary Drivers Behind the Increase

Women's lawbreaking are frequently linked to poverty and usually serve as a method of sustenance to care for their dependents.

Extensive studies has determined that laws often criminalize essential livelihood measures and that women are unfairly targeted 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 typically associated with poverty and the inability to pay fines for petty offenses or to obtain release.

Countries with the Highest Incarcerated Women Statistics

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". 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 Britain, there are 3,566 women in prison – representing 4% of the total prison population. Estimates suggest 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, constituting approximately 8% of its total prison population.

Nations with Significant Increases in Incarcerated Women Statistics

Even accounting for typical population expansion over the past 25 years, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people still shows a remarkable increase. These two nations have experienced increases exceeding 600%, while these countries have seen increases over five times.

Incarcerated Women Facing Execution

Current calculations 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 similarly the nations that perform the highest number of executions in general, namely China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Based on current records, an unknown number 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. Nonetheless, analysis is obtainable concerning 15 other countries with the most women on death row.

The main offenses for which women are sentenced to death are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with required execution sentences for murder, or that do not recognize gender-based violence as mitigating circumstances, are inclined to display greater amounts 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 significant percentage of women on death row.

Suitability of Incarceration for Females

Various professionals and activists contend that prison is inappropriate penalty for a large number of women who break the law. Many are jailed for non-violent crimes; in Britain, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fell into this classification. Women commonly face a "repetitive cycle of brief incarceration periods – insufficiently long to engage in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Up to 80% of women in prison worldwide have an diagnosable psychological condition. In Europe, suicide rates for women in prison are nine times higher than for the overall public, according to the global health authority.

In response to increasing figures of incarcerated women and a deficiency of regulations reflecting their needs, the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners (known as the Bangkok Rules) were accepted by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules oblige states to develop non-custodial sanctions and to ensure gender-sensitive treatment in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An approximated 19,000 children live in prison with a parent, most often their mother, while significantly more children are separated from them. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a incarcerated mother.

In addition to the clear division and associated suffering that a prison sentence can cause, it is frequent for a woman to forfeit parental rights of her children after just a short time in prison.

Various states make provision for babies and young children to remain in correctional facilities with their mothers up to a particular maturity level. Nonetheless, a youth experienced in incarceration can harm a young person both bodily and psychologically.