Data / Rankings / Prison population rate / EU countries

EU countries by prison population rate

Slovakia had the highest prison population rate of 27 EU countries in 2020, at 192.7 per 100,000 people. Finland had the lowest, at 49.8 per 100,000 people. The median was 92.9 per 100,000 people. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest192.7Slovakia
Lowest49.8Finland
Median92.927 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2020

Austria: 95.4 per 100,000 peopleBelgium: 89.9 per 100,000 peopleBulgaria: 89.9 per 100,000 peopleCyprus: 67.7 per 100,000 peopleCzechia: 180.4 per 100,000 peopleGermany: 71.7 per 100,000 peopleDenmark: 71.6 per 100,000 peopleEstonia: 176.7 per 100,000 peopleSpain: 116.6 per 100,000 peopleFinland: 49.8 per 100,000 peopleFrance: 92.9 per 100,000 peopleGreece: 106.2 per 100,000 peopleCroatia: 87 per 100,000 peopleHungary: 171.5 per 100,000 peopleIreland: 76.8 per 100,000 peopleItaly: 91.6 per 100,000 peopleLithuania: 190.4 per 100,000 peopleLuxembourg: 89 per 100,000 peopleLatvia: 162.7 per 100,000 peopleMalta: 167.9 per 100,000 peopleNetherlands: 63.3 per 100,000 peoplePoland: 180.1 per 100,000 peoplePortugal: 111.7 per 100,000 peopleRomania: 112.5 per 100,000 peopleSweden: 70.7 per 100,000 peopleSlovenia: 69.1 per 100,000 peopleSlovakia: 192.7 per 100,000 people
  • Under 72
  • 72 to 90
  • 90 to 110
  • 110 to 170
  • 170 and over
per 100,000 people, 2020. Source: Eurostat, Prison capacity and number of persons held, actual number held per 100,000 inhabitants (crim_pris_cap). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2020

Slovakia: 192.7 per 100,000 peopleSlovakia192.7Lithuania: 190.4 per 100,000 peopleLithuania190.4Czechia: 180.4 per 100,000 peopleCzechia180.4Poland: 180.1 per 100,000 peoplePoland180.1Estonia: 176.7 per 100,000 peopleEstonia176.7Hungary: 171.5 per 100,000 peopleHungary171.5Malta: 167.9 per 100,000 peopleMalta167.9Latvia: 162.7 per 100,000 peopleLatvia162.7Spain: 116.6 per 100,000 peopleSpain116.6Romania: 112.5 per 100,000 peopleRomania112.5Portugal: 111.7 per 100,000 peoplePortugal111.7Greece: 106.2 per 100,000 peopleGreece106.2Austria: 95.4 per 100,000 peopleAustria95.4France: 92.9 per 100,000 peopleFrance92.9Italy: 91.6 per 100,000 peopleItaly91.6Bulgaria: 89.9 per 100,000 peopleBulgaria89.9Belgium: 89.9 per 100,000 peopleBelgium89.9Luxembourg: 89 per 100,000 peopleLuxembourg89Croatia: 87 per 100,000 peopleCroatia87Ireland: 76.8 per 100,000 peopleIreland76.8Germany: 71.7 per 100,000 peopleGermany71.7Denmark: 71.6 per 100,000 peopleDenmark71.6Sweden: 70.7 per 100,000 peopleSweden70.7Slovenia: 69.1 per 100,000 peopleSlovenia69.1Cyprus: 67.7 per 100,000 peopleCyprus67.7Netherlands: 63.3 per 100,000 peopleNetherlands63.3Finland: 49.8 per 100,000 peopleFinland49.8Slovakia: 192.7 per 100,000 peopleSlovakia192.7Lithuania: 190.4 per 100,000 peopleLithuania190.4Czechia: 180.4 per 100,000 peopleCzechia180.4Poland: 180.1 per 100,000 peoplePoland180.1Estonia: 176.7 per 100,000 peopleEstonia176.7Hungary: 171.5 per 100,000 peopleHungary171.5Malta: 167.9 per 100,000 peopleMalta167.9Latvia: 162.7 per 100,000 peopleLatvia162.7Spain: 116.6 per 100,000 peopleSpain116.6Romania: 112.5 per 100,000 peopleRomania112.5Portugal: 111.7 per 100,000 peoplePortugal111.7Greece: 106.2 per 100,000 peopleGreece106.2Austria: 95.4 per 100,000 peopleAustria95.4France: 92.9 per 100,000 peopleFrance92.9Italy: 91.6 per 100,000 peopleItaly91.6Bulgaria: 89.9 per 100,000 peopleBulgaria89.9Belgium: 89.9 per 100,000 peopleBelgium89.9Luxembourg: 89 per 100,000 peopleLuxembourg89Croatia: 87 per 100,000 peopleCroatia87Ireland: 76.8 per 100,000 peopleIreland76.8Germany: 71.7 per 100,000 peopleGermany71.7Denmark: 71.6 per 100,000 peopleDenmark71.6Sweden: 70.7 per 100,000 peopleSweden70.7Slovenia: 69.1 per 100,000 peopleSlovenia69.1Cyprus: 67.7 per 100,000 peopleCyprus67.7Netherlands: 63.3 per 100,000 peopleNetherlands63.3Finland: 49.8 per 100,000 peopleFinland49.8
per 100,000 people. Source: Eurostat, Prison capacity and number of persons held, actual number held per 100,000 inhabitants (crim_pris_cap). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2020
per 100,000 people		Change on 2019
1Slovakia192.7-0.9 pts
2Lithuania190.4-29.3 pts
3Czechia180.4-17.3 pts
4Poland180.1-16.4 pts
5Estonia176.7-11 pts
6Hungary171.5+4.3 pts
7Malta167.9+15.1 pts
8Latvia162.7-15.1 pts
9Spain116.6-8.1 pts
10Romania112.5+6.6 pts
11Portugal111.7-14.3 pts
12Greece106.2+4.6 pts
13Austria95.4-7 pts
14France92.9-12.4 pts
15Italy91.6-12.5 pts
16Bulgaria89.9-2.2 pts
17Belgium89.9-4.3 pts
18Luxembourg89-7.8 pts
19Croatia87+0.3 pts
20Ireland76.8-5.2 pts
21Germany71.7-4.4 pts
22Denmark71.6+4 pts
23Sweden70.7+5 pts
24Slovenia69.1+2 pts
25Cyprus67.7-19 pts
26Netherlands63.3-4.8 pts
27Finland49.8-3.6 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Persons held in prison per 100,000 inhabitants, including pre-trial detainees, counted on one reference day of the year (Eurostat crime and criminal justice statistics).

Countries count on different reference days, mostly 1 September or 31 December. The US imprisonment rate (imprisonment_rate) counts only prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year, so it is not comparable.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Prison capacity and number of persons held, actual number held per 100,000 inhabitants (crim_pris_cap). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/crim_pris_cap/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Prison capacity and number of persons held, actual number held per 100,000 inhabitants (crim_pris_cap) (EU countries by prison population rate, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/crim_pris_cap/default/table

MLA 9

Prison capacity and number of persons held, actual number held per 100,000 inhabitants (crim_pris_cap), EU countries by prison population rate, 2020. Eurostat, European Commission, 29 Apr. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/crim_pris_cap/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/prison-population-rate/eu-countries?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Prison capacity and number of persons held, actual number held per 100,000 inhabitants (crim_pris_cap). EU countries by prison population rate, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/crim_pris_cap/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/prison-population-rate/eu-countries?period=2020.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Prison capacity and number of persons held, actual number held per 100,000 inhabitants (crim_pris_cap), EU countries by prison population rate, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/crim_pris_cap/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/prison-population-rate/eu-countries?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_prison_2020,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Prison capacity and number of persons held, actual number held per 100,000 inhabitants (crim\_pris\_cap): EU countries by prison population rate, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/crim_pris_cap/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/prison-population-rate/eu-countries?period=2020. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Prison capacity and number of persons held, actual number held per 100,000 inhabitants (crim\_pris\_cap). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/crim\_pris\_cap/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Prison capacity and number of persons held, actual number held per 100,000 inhabitants (crim_pris_cap): EU countries by prison population rate, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/29
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/crim_pris_cap/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/prison-population-rate/eu-countries?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/prison-population-rate/eu-countries?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Prison capacity and number of persons held, actual number held per 100,000 inhabitants (crim_pris_cap). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/crim_pris_cap/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest prison population rate?

Slovakia, with 192.7 per 100,000 people in 2020, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest prison population rate?

Finland, with 49.8 per 100,000 people in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Prison capacity and number of persons held, actual number held per 100,000 inhabitants (crim_pris_cap). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

EU countries: more rankings