Albania ranks among the countries with the highest number of prisoners in relation to the population, according to the latest data published by Eurostat.
The lowest level is in Serbia with 166 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants. Data for North Macedonia comes from 2017, when the index was 122, while Kosovo in 2020 had 143 people in prison per 100,000 inhabitants.
In Albania, the record was set In 2018, according to eurostat Data, with 217.3 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants.
In Europe, the record is held By turkey, which has 323 people in prison per 100,000 inhabitants.
In 2021, there were 475,038 prisoners in the EU, equivalent to 106 prisoners per 100,000 people. The imprisonment rate increased, after a decrease in 2020 (104 prisoners per 100,000 people), but remained the second lowest rate since the turn of the century.
The highest prison rates per 100,000 people in 2021 were in Hungary and Poland (191 each), followed by Slovakia (185).
The lowest rates were recorded In Finland (51), Slovenia (54) and the Netherlands (65).
In 14 of the 26 EU countries that provided data, the prison rate increased compared to 2020.
In 2021, 8 EU countries had overcrowded prison cells, while 17 countries had excess capacity. The prison population ratio is the number of prisoners in relation to the official capacity (planned capacity) of the prisons, multiplied by 100.
Overcrowding occurs when the occupancy rate exceeds 100, indicating that there are more prisoners than the facility was designed to accommodate.
Population percentages were observed in Cyprus (146), Romania (116), France (114), Greece and Italy (108 each), Sweden (102), Croatia and Denmark (both 101).
The lowest prison population rates were recorded in Malta (65), Estonia and Latvia (66 each). In 14 of the 25 EU countries providing data in 2021, prison overcrowding rates increased compared to 2020, when the reduction was made possible by COVID-19-related measures.
