There were around 499,000 prisoners in the EU in 2023, according to the latest Eurostat data.
This represents a 3.2% increase compared with the previous year.
Authorities anticipate that prison numbers could increase by as much as 200% between 2023 and 2027 due to political shifts.
“The prison population has been growing in Europe, especially following the discontinuation of post-COVID measures,” said Idil Aydinoglu, regional programme manager at Penal Reform International.
“Several factors can be traced back to inadequate or inconsistent policies or legislative practices that result in an increase in the number of people in prisons.”
Between 1993 and 2023, the highest number of prisoners was recorded in 2012, at 553,000.
One in five prisoners in the EU held foreign citizenship in the reporting country in 2023.
When comparing EU countries, the highest prisoner rates per 100,000 people in 2023 were in Poland with a prisoner rate of 203, followed by Hungary with 187 and Czechia with 181.
By contrast, the lowest rate was in Finland with 53 prisoners per 100,000 people, the Netherlands with 66 and Slovenia with 68.
Overcrowded cells raise safety concerns
In 2023, 14 countries had some extra capacity, or “empty cells”, while 13 countries had overcrowded cells.
Overcrowding happens when there are more prisoners than a prison was designed to hold.
The highest overcrowding was observed in Cyprus, with an occupancy rate of 226.2, France at 122.9, and Italy at 119.1.
Meanwhile, the lowest prison occupancy rates were recorded in Estonia with an occupancy rate of 56.2, Luxembourg at 60.8, and Bulgaria at 67.7.
Overcrowding affects both people detained in prisons, as well as staff, leading to increased violence, burnout and reduced control within the facilities.
For instance, in Spain, overcrowding has reportedly enabled criminal gangs to operate more freely within prisons, while in Slovenia, access to healthcare has been severely affected, and the cancellation of 1,416 escorts has resulted in significant delays in court proceedings in 2023 due to the strain on resources.
Slovenian prisons have also seen a rise in conflicts between prisoners, with recorded incidents increasing from 207 in 2020 to 314 in 2023, according to Penal Reform International.
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