World Prisons
All countries

Asia · Eastern Asia

China

High confidence
Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 31 Dec 2018
Fresh · 9d ago

Official Ministry of Justice figure. Excludes pre-trial detainees and administrative detention systems.

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Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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

1,690,000

Year: 2018

Rate per 100,000

119

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

99%

At or under capacity

Pre-trial / remand

7.5%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

8.6%

Foreign nationals

0.4%

Conditions risk — across 976 facilities

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

3/100
national average
2 low974 unknown

How China compares

vs Asia (14) & global averages
Rate per 100,000this: 119 · region: 167 · global: 214
Occupancy ratethis: 99% · region: 152% · global: 125%
Pre-trial sharethis: 8% · region: 35% · 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: 1,427,407+19.9% over 17y2017: 1,712,000

What we know — and don't

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

What we don't know

  • True figure widely believed to be substantially higher once administrative detention (RTS, Re-education Through Labour successor regimes) is included.

Prisons in China

Browse all 976 →

976 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

861Jian Yu

China

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

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A Ke Su Di Qu Zhong Xin Kan Shou Suo

China

Type

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Capacity

—

Held

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A Ke Su Nu Zi Jian Yu

China

Type

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Capacity

—

Held

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A Ke Su Qiang Zhi Ge Chi Jie Du Suo

China

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

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A Ke Su Shi Kan Shou Suo

China

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Aksu City First Educational Training Center

China

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Aksu Prison

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Akto County Northern Light Industrial Park Vocational Skill Education Training Center

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Akto County Training Center

China

Type

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Capacity

—

Held

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An Hui Bao Feng Qiang Zhi Ge Chi Jie Du Suo

China

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

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An Hui Nan Hu Qiang Zhi Ge Chi Jie Du Suo

China

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

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An Hui Sheng Fu Yang Jian Yu

China

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

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An Hui Sheng Nu Zi Jian Yu

China

Type

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Capacity

—

Held

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An Hui Sheng Wei Cheng Nian Fan Guan Jiao Suo

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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An Hui Sheng Wei Cheng Nian Ren Qiang Zhi Ge Chi Jie Du Suo

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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An Hui Sheng Wei Cheng Nian Ren Qiang Zhi Ge Chi Jie Du Suo

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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An Qing Shi Kan Shou Suo

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Anqing Prison

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Artux City Vocational Skill Education Training Service Center

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Ash Civilian Assembly Center

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Ba Yin Guo Leng Jian Yu

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Ba Zhen Jian Qu

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Bai Se Qiang Zhi Ge Chi Jie Du Suo

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Bai Se Shi Di Er Kan Shou Suo

China

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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See all 976 prisons in China →

Data completeness

100%

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

National population
1,418,000,0002018
Source-verified
20 May 2026
Source links
3 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.