Prison capacity and number of persons held in Switzerland
Switzerland: Prison capacity and number of persons held was 7,404 in 2024. ▬ Flat
Latest (2024)
7,404
Change on year
up 2.1%
World rank
18th
of 37 countries
All-time high
7,489
in 2017
All-time low
7,196
in 2022
Years of data
11
2014–2024
Prison capacity and number of persons held in Switzerland, 2014–2024
Source: Eurostat.
Analysis
Switzerland recorded 7,404 for prison capacity and number of persons held in 2024.
That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and up 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prison capacity and number of persons held in Switzerland peaked at 7,489 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 7,196, in 2022.
Switzerland ranks 18th of 37 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Prison capacity and number of persons held in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 7,235 | — |
| 2015 | 7,324 | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 7,483 | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 7,489 | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 7,394 | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 7,373 | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 7,397 | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 7,341 | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 7,196 | -2.0% |
| 2023 | 7,251 | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 7,404 | +2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 7,383 | 7,235 | 7,489 | 6 |
| 2020s | 7,318 | 7,196 | 7,404 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More urban development data for Switzerland
- Population in the largest city 18.7% (2025)
- Population density 224.98 people per sq. km of land area (2023)
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure 8.32 micrograms per cubic meter (2023)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 1.46 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per capita 0.16 units per person (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, annual 0.8141 % 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 36.23 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Population in largest city 1.46 million (2025)
- Crude steelmaking capacity 1.37 Tonnes (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prison capacity and number of persons held in Switzerland?
- Prison capacity and number of persons held in Switzerland was 7,404 in 2024, according to Eurostat.
- What is the highest prison capacity and number of persons held recorded in Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 7,489 in 2017.
- What is the lowest prison capacity and number of persons held recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 7,196 in 2022.
- How does Switzerland rank for prison capacity and number of persons held?
- Switzerland ranks 18th out of 37 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prison capacity and number of persons held rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Switzerland 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
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