Asia · Southern Asia

Afghanistan

High confidence

Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 1 Sept 2024

Fresh · 9d ago

Figure is an estimate. Since the 2021 Taliban takeover, no official statistical release.

Compare Afghanistan World Prison Brief page

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

Prison population

23,000

Year: 2024

Rate per 100,000

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

179.9%

Severely overcrowded

Pre-trial / remand

52.2%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

4.3%

Foreign nationals

0.7%

Conditions risk — across 10 facilities

Average of our computed Conditions Risk Score across the country's facilities. Methodology · Browse highest-risk

—

national average

10 unknown

How Afghanistan compares

vs Asia (14) & global averages

Rate per 100,000this: 54 · region: 171 · global: 214

Occupancy ratethis: 180% · region: 145% · global: 125%

Pre-trial sharethis: 52% · region: 32% · global: 32%

The vertical ticks mark the global (grey) and regional (amber) means. Bars are clipped at the high end for readability.

Prison population over time

Annual figures, latest survey year

2004: 5,262+333.9% over 16y2020: 22,832

What we know — and don't

Transparency about the boundaries of this data. Click sources where linked.

What we don't know

Many facilities believed to operate informally; no consolidated national figure.

—

Held

—

Data completeness

100%

Score based on how many fields are populated. We surface this so you know where the gaps are.

National population: 42,760,0002024
Source-verified: 20 May 2026
Source links: 2 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.

Primary reference
World Prison Brief (ICPS, Birkbeck) — Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research
Human Rights Watch — World Report — Human Rights Watch
See /data-sources for our methodology.