The number of prisoners in EU jails is soaring, with Italy ranking fifth for overcrowding

Brussels – In just four years, the number of people in prisons across the European Union has risen by almost 10 per cent, exceeding the half-million mark. The data is provided by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, and refers to 2024, when there were 508,746 prisoners in the EU-27’s prisons, an increase of 2 per cent compared to 2023. The percentage increase rises to as much as +9.8 per cent when compared with 2020, the year in which the lowest number of inmates in EU prisons was recorded (463,376 people), following a gradual decline that began in 2012, when there were 552,954 inmates. 

In 2024, 13 EU countries had overcrowded prison cells, with the most critical situations in Cyprus, with an occupancy rate of 227.6 people per 100 places, in Slovenia (134.2), in France (129.3), in Croatia (122.5), in Italy (122.4, up from 119.1 in 2023), and in Romania (118.3). The lowest prison occupancy rates were recorded in Estonia (49.9), Lithuania (67) and Luxembourg (67.4). The EU average prison occupancy rate is 94.6, up two points from 92.6 in 2023. 

In 2024, there were approximately 113 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, slightly above the 2023 rate (111). Among EU countries, the highest levels were in Hungary (193), Poland (191), and Latvia (187), while at the other end of the scale, the lowest were in Finland (57), the Netherlands (67), and Denmark and Germany (70 each). Italy had 108 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants. 

As regards prison capacity, in 2024, there was one prison place for every 853 inhabitants in the EU, or, in other words, 117 places per 100,000 inhabitants. However, this figure varies considerably from one EU country to another: the number of prison places per 100,000 inhabitants is highest in the countries of Eastern and Baltic Europe, particularly in Poland (243.3), Latvia (243), Estonia (238.5), Lithuania (231.5), and Slovakia (212.7), while it is much lower in Cyprus (43.9), Finland (53.1), Slovenia (63.4), and Denmark (69.2). Italy ranks eighth from the bottom with 88 places per 100,000 inhabitants. 

Finally, Eurostat points out that between 2010 and 2017, there were, on average, around two prisoners for every prison officer in the EU. However, in 2018, this ratio fell slightly to 1.9, mainly due to an increase in the number of prison officers. During 2020 and 2021, the ratio fell further to 1.8, likely due to anti-COVID-19 measures that reduced the prison population. However, in 2022, the ratio returned to 1.9 and remained unchanged until 2024.