Latest prison data released: five key findings

painting showing prisoners behind bars and words like family, integration communication and freedom

Artwork: Haidy Darwish

Today, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime releases its second edition of Prison Matters, a comprehensive global overview of the latest global prison statistics and emerging trends.

In addition to the latest statistics and trends, this year’s report explores the concept of rehabilitative prison environments and highlights efforts from Member States aimed at translating this concept into practice.

Here we highlight five key findings from the report.

1. The world’s prison population continues to increase

After a short-lived decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people in prison is rising once again, reaching 11.7 million people in 2023.

2. Prisons are overcrowded in the majority of countries worldwide

More than 60 per cent of the 181 countries with available data operate prison systems at over 100 per cent capacity. Concerningly, more than one in four countries operates a prison system at over 150 per cent capacity.

Overcrowding is not only an issue of lack of space, but also affects the quality of nutrition, hygiene and health services; rates of transmission of infectious diseases; the provision of care to vulnerable groups; the physical and mental health of prisoners; and access to constructive activities and programmes. Overcrowding generates conflict, fuels violence erodes prison infrastructure and poses immense security and management challenges.

If prisons are to rehabilitate prisoners, overcrowding must be addressed as a priority.

3. Nearly a third of the global prison population is in pre-trial detention

More than 3.7 million people are in pre-trial detention worldwide – around 30 per cent of all prisoners. Across regions, the highest proportion of unsentenced prisoners among the overall prison population is reported in Africa and Oceania (both at 37 per cent in 2023), and the lowest in Europe (19 per cent). The situation is particularly concerning in Southern Asia, where almost two thirds of detainees (64 per cent) are held unsentenced, with the proportion continuing to rise (from 54 per cent in 2013).

Although there is no significant global gender gap in unsentenced detention shares, certain regions, such as Africa and Oceania, exhibit higher percentages of women in pre-trial detention, with a difference of more than seven percentage points.

Pretrial detention should be limited to instances where there is an established risk that an alleged offender may abscond, commit a further criminal offence or interfere with the course of justice. Its excessive use jeopardises the principle of proportionality in criminal justice decision-making as well as a person’s right to a fair trial. A disproportionate use of pre-trial detention has also been found to be a major contributor to prison overcrowding. Addressing this should be an urgent priority for Member States around the world.

2025: a year of action on prison and penal reform

Released on 18 July to remark Nelson Mandela International Day, this year’s Prison Matters brief is especially significant as it coincides with the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) and the 15th anniversary of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women offenders – known as the Bangkok Rules. This double anniversary year offers more than an opportunity for celebration: it gives the global community the opportunity to recommit to penal and prison reform, for the benefit of us all.

While the challenges facing the world’s prisons are great, there is growing momentum for reform. UNODC is working with more than 50 Member States on initiatives to reform prison and penal systems from sites of punishment and incapacitation to justice and rehabilitation.

Find out more.

4. Deaths in prisons are largely preventable, with more than one in 10 deaths in prisons labelled a suicide 

In almost all countries reporting, the rate of intentional homicide is higher among prisoners than in the general population. Countries with data in the Americas reported a much higher rate of deaths by intentional homicide (17.4 victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 prisoners) than in other regions. This compares to 2.0 deaths by homicide per 100,000 prisoners in European countries with data, the region with the second highest homicide rate in prison, and could be the result of multiple factors, including the influence of organized crime group rivalries in prisons and unsafe prison conditions.

In 2023, 32.9 prisoners out of 100,000 prisoners died by suicide, more than three times higher than the crude suicide rate of 9.1 deaths per 100,000 in the general population in 2021. 

Custodial deaths are largely preventable and often reflect challenges that States face in exercising their heightened duty of care and obligation to protect prisoners’ rights to health and safety.

5. Rehabilitation requires a conducive environment to take hold

The rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners is an essential part of prison management. Evidence shows that successful rehabilitation of prisoners is not just about what prisons do, but also what they are: a respectful, humane prison environment in which rehabilitation is constantly and consistently supported provides the essential foundations for personal transformation.

Integrating a rehabilitative ethos across all aspects of the prison environment—through intentional design, coordinated management, and staff alignment around shared goals to name a few — provides a critical foundation for improved rehabilitation and social reintegration outcomes.

In-prison initiatives must also be matched by government policies outside of prisons, including the removal of barriers to post-prison employment and broader public policy efforts to reduce the stigma of imprisonment.

Read the full report here.