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Present Global Female Prison Population

Over 733,000 women and girls are detained in correctional facilities globally, as reported by recent investigations. This figure covers both awaiting trial prisoners and those who have been found guilty and punished. Researchers estimate the real number is substantially larger due to incomplete data from multiple countries.

Females typically constitute a limited percentage of correctional system demographics – usually between 2-9% on average. As of now, women and girls represent approximately 6.8% of the global prison population. However, their numbers are increasing at a faster rate than male inmates.

Since the year 2000, the number of women and girls in prison has expanded by approximately 60 percent – almost three times the increase observed in the male prison population. The global female prison population grew by exceeding 100,000 individuals during the ten-year period ending in 2020.

Main Causes Behind the Increase

Women's lawbreaking are frequently linked to poverty and typically represent a way to support themselves to support their children and relatives.

Extensive studies has determined that regulations typically outlaw essential livelihood measures and that women are unfairly targeted because they are more commonly found among the most impoverished segments of society. In many countries, laws criminalizing abortion, adultery, sexual misconduct and prostitution almost exclusively affect women. The chance of being given a prison sentence is frequently connected with poverty and the lack of resources for fines for petty offenses or to secure bail.

Nations with the Greatest Women Inmate Numbers

The United States has the greatest quantity of female prisoners with 174,607. China ranks second with 145,000, plus an uncertain quantity of women and girls in awaiting trial custody and "administrative detention". 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 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.

Countries with Substantial Rises in Incarcerated Women Statistics

Even accounting for standard demographic increases over the last quarter-century, the increase in the number of female prisoners per 100,000 people remains indicative of a significant growth. Cambodia and El Salvador have experienced more than sixfold increases, while Turkey and Indonesia 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, namely China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As reported by recent documentation, an undetermined count of women were given capital punishment in China, while two faced execution 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 additional countries including North Korea, Vietnam and Qatar. Nevertheless, analysis is obtainable concerning 15 other countries with the most women on death row.

The two primary crimes for which women are sentenced to death are murder and drug trafficking. Countries with required execution sentences for murder, or that refuse to consider gender-based violence as lessening conditions, are more likely to have increased quantities of women on death row and additional capital punishments.

Furthermore, countries that harshly penalize drug trafficking, such as those in the Gulf region and Asian southeast, have a substantial ratio of women on death row.

Appropriateness of Prison for Women

Various professionals and advocates maintain that prison is inappropriate penalty for a large number of women who break the law. The majority are imprisoned for non-violent crimes; in Britain, for example, 72% of female prison admissions in 2020 fell into this classification. Women frequently experience a "revolving door" of limited imprisonment terms – insufficiently long to participate in meaningful education, training or work opportunities.

Up to 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 wider community, as reported by the World Health Organization.

In response 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 approved by the UN General Assembly in December 2010. These rules require nations to establish non-imprisonment penalties and to provide women-specific consideration in prisons.

Offspring of Incarcerated Women

An approximated 19,000 children live in prison with a parent, usually their mother, while a much larger quantity are divided from their parents. Approximately 1.45 million children worldwide have a mother in prison.

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 limited duration in prison.

Numerous nations make provision for babies and young children to live in incarceration centers with their mothers up to a certain age. However, a childhood spent in prison can harm a young person both in health and mental state.