France and Turkey have most overcrowded jails in Europe

France and Turkey show the highest prison overcrowding levels among Council of Europe member states, with 131 inmates per 100 places in early 2025 data. France later reported an estimated overcrowding rate of 139.1% in April 2026. Data from 51 prison administrations indicate that 14 systems hold more prisoners than available places. Croatia ranks third with 123 inmates per 100 places, followed by Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Hungary, Belgium, and Ireland. Better-performing countries include Ukraine, Spain, and Germany. Turkey also has the highest incarceration rate at 458 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Azerbaijan and Moldova. Total inmates across studied countries exceed 1.1 million as of January 31, 2025, an 8.5% year-on-year increase, while the share of women prisoners rises from 4.8% to 5.2%.

"France and Turkey have the highest levels of prison overcrowding among Council of Europe member states, with 131 inmates for every 100 places, a specially commissioned report said Tuesday. These figures, compiled by the University of Lausanne for the 46-member Strasbourg-based body, date back to early 2025. Since then, the French authorities have provided more recent and even more alarming numbers, with prison overcrowding estimated at 139.1 percent in April 2026."

"Of the 51 prison administrations that supplied data (some countries, such as Spain, Britain and Bosnia, report by region), 14 have more prisoners than available places. In third place comes Croatia (123 inmates for every 100 places), Italy (121), Malta (118), Cyprus (117), Hungary (115), Belgium (114) and Ireland (112). The better performers include Ukraine at 50, Spain at 77 and Germany at 80."

"The countries that incarcerate the most are Turkey (458 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants), Azerbaijan (271) and Moldova (245). Among EU member states, they include Hungary (206), Poland (189) and the Czech Republic (178). Overall, as of January 31st 2025, there were just over 1.1 million inmates across all the countries studied, an 8.5 percent year-on-year increase."

"The proportion of women prisoners rose from 4.8 percent to 5.2 percent between January 2024 and January 2025, it said. Please sign up or log in to continue reading"

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