Prison capacity and number of persons held in Italy
Italy: Prison capacity and number of persons held was 51,901 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Prison capacity and number of persons held in Italy, 2008–2024
Source: Eurostat.
Analysis
In 2024, prison capacity and number of persons held in Italy stood at 51,901. That is the highest value across all 17 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 3.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prison capacity and number of persons held in Italy peaked at 51,901 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 43,843, in 2008.
That places Italy 5th out of 37 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Prison capacity and number of persons held in Italy, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 43,843 | — |
| 2009 | 44,838 | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 45,791 | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 46,452 | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 47,864 | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 48,559 | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 50,282 | +3.5% |
| 2015 | 50,239 | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 50,806 | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 51,078 | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 51,141 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 51,252 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 51,126 | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 51,392 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 51,767 | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 51,704 | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 51,901 | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 44,340 | 43,843 | 44,838 | 2 |
| 2010s | 49,346 | 45,791 | 51,252 | 10 |
| 2020s | 51,578 | 51,126 | 51,901 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More urban development data for Italy
- Population in the largest city 10.6% (2025)
- Population density 199.46 people per sq. km of land area (2023)
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure 14.29 micrograms per cubic meter (2023)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 11.51 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per capita 0.1953 units per person (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, annual 0.2457 % 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 38.72 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Population in largest city 4.35 million (2025)
- Crude steelmaking capacity 34.69 Tonnes (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prison capacity and number of persons held in Italy?
- Prison capacity and number of persons held in Italy was 51,901 in 2024, according to Eurostat.
- What is the highest prison capacity and number of persons held recorded in Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 51,901 in 2024.
- What is the lowest prison capacity and number of persons held recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 43,843 in 2008.
- How does Italy rank for prison capacity and number of persons held?
- Italy ranks 5th out of 37 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prison capacity and number of persons held rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Italy 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.
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