Europe Asia News

The Institute reports that more than 733,000 women and girls worldwide are held in detention or serving sentences. Due to missing data from five countries and incomplete data from China, the real total is believed to be significantly higher.

Although women have always been a minority in prison populations, their numbers are rising faster than those of men. In 2024, women and girls made up only 6.8% of the global prison population.

Since 2000, the number of incarcerated women and girls has risen by nearly 60%, almost three times the rate of increase among male prisoners (22%). During the decade preceding the end of 2020, the global number of female prisoners increased by more than 100,000.

Research indicates that crimes committed by women are often closely linked to poverty and frequently represent a survival strategy to support their families.

Studies by Penal Reform International, Women Beyond Walls and the Global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty show that laws criminalising survival-related behaviour disproportionately affect women, who are overrepresented among the poorest segments of society.

In some countries, laws criminalising abortion, adultery, sexual offences and prostitution affect almost exclusively women. Women are also often imprisoned for failing to pay fines or bail for minor offences.

The United States tops the list with 174,607 female prisoners. China follows with 145,000 female detainees.

The next countries are Brazil (50,441), Russia (39,153), Thailand (33,057), India (23,772), the Philippines (17,121), Turkey (16,581), Vietnam (15,152), Mexico (13,841) and Indonesia (13,044).