Cyprus Tops the List for Prison Overcrowding and Female Prisoners

The Republic of Cyprus has claimed the top spot in the ranking of countries with prison overcrowding. According to recent statistics, there are 166 inmates per 100 places in the country's prisons.

The annual prison statistics report for the year 2023 highlighted that prison overcrowding remains a significant and persistent issue for many European prison administrations.

Participating countries with populations exceeding 500,000 reported instances where there were more inmates in penitentiary facilities than available spaces in January 2023. Cyprus emerged as the leader in this aspect.

Following Cyprus, Romania reported 120 inmates per 100 places, France reported 119, and Belgium reported 115.

Finland, Denmark, England, and Wales each reported 97 inmates per 100 places, while Azerbaijan reported 96.

Additionally, Cyprus leads in the percentage of female prisoners, standing at 9.2%. The country also ranks poorly in terms of the ratio of foreign prisoners to total inmates.

As of January 31, 2023, 48 out of 51 prison administrations of Council of Europe member states, which provided data, collectively housed 1,036,680 inmates.

Between January 2022 and January 2023, sixteen prison administrations observed a significant increase in the number of inmates. Cyprus ranked third in this aspect, with a growth rate of 25%, following the Republic of Moldova and North Macedonia. Turkey followed closely with a growth rate of 15%, while Greece reported the lowest increase at 5.2%.

Turkey has the highest level of inmates per 100,000 inhabitants, with 408 inmates, while North Macedonia has the lowest, with 142.