World Prisons
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Americas · South America

Brazil

High confidence
Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 31 Dec 2024
Fresh · 1mo ago

Third-largest prison population globally. Severe overcrowding across most states; the National Council of Justice (CNJ) maintains a public monitoring database.

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Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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

909,067

Year: 2024

Rate per 100,000

416

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

135.6%

Above design capacity

Pre-trial / remand

23.6%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

5.9%

Foreign nationals

0.3%

Conditions risk — across 1000 facilities

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

14/100
national average
6 moderate8 low986 unknown
abolitionist ordinary only on capital punishment since 1979. Last known execution: 1876.ICCPR-OP2 (death-penalty abolition protocol): not a signatory

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

Source: Amnesty International + Cornell Death Penalty Worldwide.
2 documented human-rights cases →

How Brazil compares

vs Americas (9) & global averages
Rate per 100,000this: 416 · region: 499 · global: 214
Occupancy ratethis: 136% · region: 129% · global: 125%
Pre-trial sharethis: 24% · region: 36% · 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: 232,755+212.7% over 25y2025: 727,895

Source: World Prison Brief / unodc / infopen-bd

What we know — and don't

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

What we know

  • More than 30,000 inmates serve sentences in militia-controlled wings of major facilities.
  • The Carandiru Massacre (1992) remains Brazil's most-cited case before the Inter-American Court.

What we don't know

  • Death-in-custody figures vary substantially between state administrations.

Reform in Brazil

All reform →

Laws, programmes, and pilots changing how Brazil incarcerates — plus relevant research.

  • Audiências de Custódia (custody hearings)2015–ongoing

    pre trial detention · active

    From 2015, every person arrested in Brazil must be presented to a judge within 24 hours, who decides whether pre-trial detention is justified. Replaced a system where remand decisions were made on paper, often after months of incarceration.

Prisons in Brazil

Browse all 3,416 →

3,416 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

'Cadeia Publica

Brazil

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

1° Batalhão De Guardas

Brazil · AV. PEDRO II, 158 - SÃO CRISTÓVÃO

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

1° Regimento De Cavalaria Mecanizado

Brazil · AV TC LUIZ JOAQUIM DE SÁ BRITO, 638

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

10° Regimento De Cavalaria Mecanizado

Brazil · RUA ALCEBÍADES BOBADINHA DA CUNHA, S/N

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

10º Batalhão De Infantaria Leve De Montanha

Brazil · RUA GENERAL CARNEIRO S/N, BAIRRO FÁBRICA,

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

10º Batalhão Logístico

Brazil · RUA GENERAL VITORINO, S/Nº

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

10º Cia

Brazil · PE- 180 KM 5 S/N DISTRITO INDUSTRIAL

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

10º Distrito Policial De São Paulo/Sp

Brazil · AV. TALMA DE OLIVEIRA, 1 - TATUAPÉ

Type

police-lockup

Capacity

—

Held

—

10º Distrito Policial De Sp/Sp

Brazil · AV. TALMA DE OLIVEIRA, 1 - TATUAPÉ

Type

police-lockup

Capacity

—

Held

—

10º Grupo De Artilharia De Campanha De Selva

Brazil · AVENIDA MARQUES DE POMBAL, S/N, SET MIL MAL RONDON 13 DE SETEMBRO

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

11ª Bateria De Artilharia Antiaérea Autopropulsada

Brazil · RUA MAL. DEODORO DA FONSECA, 412, BAIRRO VILA PARAÍSO

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

11ª Brigada De Infantaria Leve

Brazil · AV. SOLDADO PASSARINHO, Nº 1601, JARDIM CHAPADÃO

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

11ª Companhia De Comunicações Mecanizada

Brazil · RUA MARECHAL RONDON 256

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

11º Batalhão De Infantaria Leve De Montanha

Brazil · LADEIRA TENENTE VILAS BÔAS, 316, CENTRO

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

11º Pelotão De Polícia Do Exército

Brazil · AV. SOLDADO PASSARINHO, JARDIM CHAPADÃO

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

11º Regimento De Cavalaria Mecanizado

Brazil · PRAÇA DUQUE DE CAXIAS, S/N, CENTRO

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

12° Batalhão De Engenharia De Combate Blindado

Brazil · RUA VISCONDE DE TAMANDARÉ, 1000

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

12ª Brigada De Infantaria Leve Aeromóvel

Brazil · RUA MARQUES DE HERVAL, Nº 109, CENTRO

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

12ª Companhia De Comunicação Leve Aeromóvel

Brazil · AV. MARECHAL CASTELO BRANCO, VILA PARAÍSO

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

12ª Companhia De Comunicações Mecanizada

Brazil · R. MAURICIO CARDOSO, 3619

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

12ª Região Militar

Brazil · AV. CORONEL TEIXEIRA, Nº 6155, PONTA NEGRA

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

12º Batalhão De Infantaria Leve De Montanha

Brazil · RUA TENENTE BRITO MELO S/N, BAIRRO BARRO PRETO

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

12º Batalhão De Suprimento

Brazil · RUA MARECHAL BITTENCOURT, N.º 55, SANTO ANTÔNIO

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

12º Grupo De Artilharia Antiaérea De Silva

Brazil · AV. CORONEL TEIXEIRA, Nº 2061, PONTA NEGRA

Type

jail

Capacity

—

Held

—

See all 3,416 prisons in Brazil →

Data completeness

100%

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

National population
218,470,0002024
Source-verified
20 May 2026
Source links
2 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.

ISO 3166-1 alpha-3
BRA