Council of Europe: 'SPACE I' Annual penal statistics: Prison Populations 2023

7th June 2024

The Council of Europe (CoE) has published 'SPACE I' Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations 2023. The report contains a detailed breakdown of penological trends across Europe. 

Key findings from a European perspective:

• The median prison population is 107 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants;
• Females represented 5% of those in prison across Europe on the date of data collection;
• 30% of the prisoners held in European penal institutions were not serving a final sentence on the date of data collection;
• In 2023, the average length of imprisonment in Europe has increased to 11.8 months.

Key findings from an Irish perspective:

• The total number of inmates in Ireland on 31 January 2023 was 4,432, of which 20.6% were without a final sentence  
• On 31 January 2023, Ireland had a prison density of 99.4 prisoners for every 100 places available; this compared to 84.5 prisoners for every 100 places available in Northern Ireland and a Europe-wide median figure of 90.2  
• Between 2022 and 2023, the incarceration rate (or prison population rate) in Ireland increased by 12%; in countries with over 500,000 inhabitants, only Moldova (52%), North Macedonia (26%), Cyprus (25%), Türkiye (15%) and Azerbaijan (13%) recorded higher increases over the same period 
• Between 2005 and 2023, the incarceration rate (or prison population rate) in Ireland increased by 10.8%; this compares to an increase of 16.8% in Northern Ireland and decreases of 0.1% in Scotland and 4.6% in England & Wales over the same period  
• In 2022, Ireland recorded 4.5 escapes per 10,000 inmates; this compares to a Europe-wide median of 1.9 escapes per 10,000 inmates  
• The total budget spent by Ireland’s prison administration in 2022 was €440.2 million  

Read the SPACE I Annual Penal Statistics: Prison Populations 2023.

Key findings of the SPACE I Annual Penal Statistics: Prison Populations 2023 report are available.