Prison capacity and number of persons held in Belgium
Belgium: Prison capacity and number of persons held was 11,040 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prison capacity and number of persons held in Belgium, 2008–2024
Source: Eurostat.
Analysis
The most recent figure for prison capacity and number of persons held in Belgium is 11,040, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.3% on the previous year and up 13.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prison capacity and number of persons held in Belgium peaked at 11,040 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8,445, in 2008.
That places Belgium 13th out of 37 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Prison capacity and number of persons held in Belgium, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 8,445 | — |
| 2009 | 8,546 | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 9,129 | +6.8% |
| 2011 | 9,212 | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 9,401 | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 9,715 | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 9,952 | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 9,231 | -7.2% |
| 2019 | 9,231 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 9,554 | +3.5% |
| 2021 | 9,563 | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 9,703 | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 10,584 | +9.1% |
| 2024 | 11,040 | +4.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8,496 | 8,445 | 8,546 | 2 |
| 2010s | 9,410 | 9,129 | 9,952 | 7 |
| 2020s | 10,089 | 9,554 | 11,040 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More urban development data for Belgium
- Population in the largest city 20.5% (2025)
- Population density 386.3 people per sq. km of land area (2023)
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure 8.45 micrograms per cubic meter (2023)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 3.21 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per capita 0.2685 units per person (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, annual 0.4106 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per unit 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per square 104.26 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Population in largest city 2.14 million (2025)
- Crude steelmaking capacity 8.9 Tonnes (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prison capacity and number of persons held in Belgium?
- Prison capacity and number of persons held in Belgium was 11,040 in 2024, according to Eurostat.
- What is the highest prison capacity and number of persons held recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 11,040 in 2024.
- What is the lowest prison capacity and number of persons held recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 8,445 in 2008.
- How does Belgium rank for prison capacity and number of persons held?
- Belgium ranks 13th out of 37 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prison capacity and number of persons held rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from Eurostat, published as part of Prison capacity and number of persons held. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Eurostat).