At least 988 children were living with their mothers in prisons across Europe in January 2024, with most of them in Turkey, according to penal statistics released today by the European Council.
This new report from SPACE I (the Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics) reveals stark contrasts in how European countries handle the presence of children in prisons. In nations like Andorra, Norway, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, children are not permitted to live with their mothers behind bars. However, the majority of the Council’s 46 member states allow children up to age three to remain in prison with their mothers, including Spain and Poland, where there are currently 21 and 42 children in prison, respectively. Portugal extends this age limit to five, with 20 children living in prison, while Turkey allows children to stay until age six—the oldest among member states.
Despite these allowances, the overall number of children in prisons has dropped significantly, from 1,608 in 2020 to fewer than 1,000 today. As of January 2024, over one million people were incarcerated across member states, with women representing just 4.9% of the prison population. The highest female incarceration rates were found in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Finland, while Albania and Georgia reported the lowest.
Globally, there are 11.5 million people currently in penal systems. Furthermore, incarceration rates have risen substantially in most countries, with overcrowding in prisons and correctional facilities jeopardizing inmates' quality of life and posing significant health risks.
Ideally, prison systems promote humane treatment and rehabilitation. Prisoners should be offered cultural and educational opportunities, health services, and adequate sleeping and eating arrangements. An overburdened prison system will struggle to meet little, if any, of these requirements. And an overpopulated penitentiary is a very dangerous place to be locked up. So, where in the world are the most overcrowded penal systems?
Click through this gallery to discover the countries that exceed their established occupancy rate, as well as the nations with the least crowded prison systems.