Europe · Western Europe

Belgium

High confidence

Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 1 Nov 2025

Fresh · 1mo ago

Recurrent overcrowding; the country has been condemned by the ECtHR multiple times.

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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

13,483

Year: 2025

Rate per 100,000

113

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

121.5%

Above design capacity

Pre-trial / remand

32.6%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

4.4%

Foreign nationals

41.4%

Conditions risk — across 79 facilities

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

—

national average

79 unknown

abolitionist on capital punishment since 1996. Last known execution: 1950.ICCPR-OP2 (death-penalty abolition protocol): signatory

Seeded from Amnesty International 2024 categorisation + Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide.

Source: Amnesty International + Cornell Death Penalty Worldwide.

111 documented human-rights cases →

How Belgium compares

vs Europe (16) & global averages

Rate per 100,000this: 113 · region: 108 · global: 214

Occupancy ratethis: 122% · region: 95% · global: 125%

Pre-trial sharethis: 33% · region: 27% · 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

2000: 8,688+44.8% over 24y2024: 12,581

Source: World Prison Brief / unodc / eurostat / Council of Europe SPACE I

Prisons in Belgium

Browse all 79 →

79 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

Antwerp prison

Belgium · Antwerpen

Type

—

Capacity

439

Held

—

Arlon prison

Belgium · Arlon

Type

—

Capacity

111

Held

—

bagne d'Anvers

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Berkendael prison

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Beveren prison

Belgium · Beveren

Type

—

Capacity

312

Held

—

Breendonk concentration camp

Belgium

Type

Concentration camp

Capacity

—

Held

—

Centre ferme pour etrangers illegaux de Vottem

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

160

Held

—

Centre penitentiaire ecole

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

130

Held

—

Ciperage

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

De Kolonie

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Detentiehuis Kortrijk

Belgium · Kortrijk

Type

—

Capacity

Held

—

Detentiehuis Olen

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Dinant prison

Belgium · Dinant

Type

—

Capacity

Held

—

Etablissement de defense sociale de Paifve

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

208

Held

—

Forest Prison

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

Held

—

Gemeenschapsinstelling De Grubbe

Belgium · Everberg

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Gemeenschapsinstelling voor Bijzondere Jeugdbijstand De Kempen

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Gesloten centrum voor illegalen Holsbeek

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Gevangenenpoort

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Gevangenis van Gent

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

393

Held

—

Gevangenis van Ieper

Belgium · Ieper

Type

—

Capacity

115

Held

—

Gevangenis van Mechelen

Belgium · Mechelen

Type

—

Capacity

Held

—

Gevangenis van Merksplas

Belgium · Merksplas

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Hechteniskamp Lokeren

Belgium

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

See all 79 prisons in Belgium →

Data completeness

100%

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

National population: 11,970,0002025
Source-verified: 20 May 2026
Source links: 2 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.

Primary reference
Council of Europe â SPACE statistics — Council of Europe
World Prison Brief (ICPS, Birkbeck) — Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research
See /data-sources for our methodology.

ISO 3166-1 alpha-3: BEL