Prison capacity and number of persons held by country
Countries reporting
38
Highest
301,397
Türkiye
Lowest
22
Liechtenstein
Median
7,043
Years covered
17
2008–2024
Data points
573
What the numbers show
Prison capacity and number of persons held is currently reported for 38 countries. The highest value is 301,397 in Türkiye; the lowest is 22 in Liechtenstein.
The median across all reporting countries is 7,043, and the mean is 22,844.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 13,700.
Over the past decade 28 countries rose and 10 fell. The largest increase was in Türkiye (up 84.8%), and the largest decrease in Lithuania (down 28.9%).
Prison capacity and number of persons held: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Türkiye | 301,397 | 2024 | up 84.8% | rising |
| 2 | Poland | 89,093 | 2024 | up 1.5% | flat |
| 3 | Spain | 73,956 | 2024 | up 15.3% | rising |
| 4 | Germany | 72,096 | 2024 | down 4.9% | flat |
| 5 | France | 62,385 | 2024 | up 7.9% | rising |
| 6 | Italy | 51,901 | 2024 | up 3.2% | rising |
| 7 | Romania | 20,795 | 2024 | down 28.0% | falling |
| 8 | Czechia | 20,387 | 2024 | up 1.8% | flat |
| 9 | Hungary | 17,905 | 2024 | up 42.3% | rising |
| 10 | Netherlands | 12,614 | 2024 | down 14.0% | falling |
| 11 | Portugal | 12,608 | 2024 | up 0.1% | flat |
| 12 | Serbia | 11,951 | 2024 | up 28.0% | rising |
| 13 | Slovakia | 11,537 | 2024 | down 2.5% | rising |
| 14 | Belgium | 11,040 | 2024 | up 13.6% | rising |
| 15 | Greece | 10,775 | 2024 | up 9.0% | flat |
| 16 | Sweden | 10,054 | 2024 | up 55.3% | rising |
| 17 | Austria | 8,278 | 2024 | down 4.5% | flat |
| 18 | Bulgaria | 8,040 | 2024 | up 2.2% | falling |
| 19 | Switzerland | 7,404 | 2024 | up 2.3% | flat |
| 20 | Lithuania | 6,682 | 2024 | down 28.9% | falling |
| 21 | Albania | 5,747 | 2024 | up 25.6% | rising |
| 22 | Ireland | 4,577 | 2024 | up 10.4% | rising |
| 23 | Latvia | 4,564 | 2024 | down 22.0% | falling |
| 24 | Denmark | 4,127 | 2024 | down 0.6% | rising |
| 25 | Croatia | 4,052 | 2024 | up 0.7% | rising |
| 26 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4,016 | 2024 | up 19.6% | rising |
| 27 | Norway | 3,631 | 2024 | down 7.3% | flat |
| 28 | Estonia | 3,278 | 2024 | up 10.7% | falling |
| 29 | Finland | 2,978 | 2024 | down 3.4% | flat |
| 30 | North Macedonia | 2,573 | 2023 | up 32.6% | rising |
| 31 | Kosovo* | 2,552 | 2020 | up 72.0% | rising |
| 32 | Montenegro | 1,393 | 2024 | up 24.8% | rising |
| 33 | Slovenia | 1,346 | 2024 | up 4.1% | rising |
| 34 | Luxembourg | 932 | 2024 | up 31.1% | rising |
| 35 | Malta | 810 | 2024 | up 30.2% | rising |
| 36 | Cyprus | 424 | 2024 | up 14.6% | rising |
| 37 | Iceland | 160 | 2024 | up 3.2% | rising |
| 38 | Liechtenstein | 22 | 2024 | up 10.0% | rising |