Americas · South America

Colombia

High confidence

Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 30 Apr 2026

Fresh · 9d ago

Constitutional Court declared the prison system in an 'unconstitutional state of affairs' in 2013; rulings updated 2018, 2024.

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Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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

102,634

Year: 2026

Rate per 100,000

197

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

126.7%

Above design capacity

Pre-trial / remand

17.8%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

5.7%

Foreign nationals

1.2%

Conditions risk — across 159 facilities

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

—

national average

159 unknown

How Colombia compares

vs Americas (9) & global averages

Rate per 100,000this: 197 · region: 523 · global: 214

Occupancy ratethis: 127% · region: 130% · global: 125%

Pre-trial sharethis: 18% · region: 37% · 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: 51,518+90.7% over 22y2022: 98,242

Reform in Colombia

All reform →

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

Co-housing for incarcerated mothers and infants2006–ongoing
conditions · active
Colombia permits children up to age three to live with their incarcerated mothers in specialised wings of women's prisons, with creche facilities, paediatric health care, and family-visit programmes.

Prisons in Colombia

Browse all 159 →

159 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

Antigua Carcel Municipal Zaragoza

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Antiguo Centro Carcelario Para Mujeres

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Berlin

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

camp de concentration de Sabaneta

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel (EPMSC Aguachica)

Colombia · Aguachica Cesar

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Anserma

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Bellavista

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Buenaventura - (EPMSC Buenaventura)

Colombia · Buenaventura

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Duitama (EPMSC Duitama)

Colombia · Duitama

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Leticia (EPMSC Leticia)

Colombia · Leticia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Maxima Seguridad de Itagui (EPC La Paz)

Colombia · Itagüí

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Maxima Seguridad de Palogordo

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Menores

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Mujeres - El Buen Pastor

Colombia · Barranquilla

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Mujeres de Bucaramanga

Colombia · Bucaramanga

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de mujeres La Badea

Colombia · Dosquebradas

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Pedregal

Colombia · Pedregal Antioquia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Picalena (COIBA Ibague)

Colombia · Ibagué

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Rivera (EPMSC Neiva)

Colombia · Rivera

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Sabanalarga (EC Sabanalarga)

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de San Diego

Colombia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

See all 159 prisons in Colombia →

Data completeness

100%

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

National population: 52,210,0002026
Source-verified: 20 May 2026
Source links: 1 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.

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