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This study aims to provide the European Parliament with background information and policy recommendations concerning prisons and detention conditions in the European Union, on the basis of European and national regulations, legislation, policies and practices.
information and policy recommendations concerning prisons and detention conditions in the EU, on the basis of European and national regulations, legislation, polic ies and practices.
Highlights. The number of prisoners in the EU was around 483 600 in 2022, a 1.7 % increase compared with 2021. There were 108 prisoners per 100 000 inhabitants in the EU in 2022, slightly more than in 2021, when the rate was 106. In 2022, 5.3 % of adult prisoners in the EU were women, the same percentage as in 2021.
There was one prisoner per 924 inhabitants in the EU in 2022, or 108 prisoners per 100 000. The prisoner rate increased in 2021 and in 2022, after the decline in 2020 that was probably due to COVID-19 measures.
The European Prison Observatory highlights to European experts and practitioners 'good practices' existing in the different countries, both for prison management and for the protection of prisoners'
In 2022, there was one prison employee per 1.9 adult prisoners in the EU. This article presents European statistics on prison occupancy and expenditure. Prisoners' data are presented in the prison statistics article while prison personnel data are presented in the police, court and prison personnel statistics article.
Minimum standards and benchmarks on detention conditions are contained in soft-law (legally non-binding) instruments, such as the Coun-cil of Europe’s European Prison Rules or the Nelson Mandela Rules. The European Prison Rules are recom-mendations adopted by the Committee of Ministers.
