World Prisons
All countries

Asia · Southern Asia

Iran

High confidence
Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 1 Jan 2020
Fresh · 9d ago

Highest known per-capita execution rate in the world; multiple major facilities for political prisoners.

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Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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

189,000

Year: 2020

Rate per 100,000

228

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

153%

Severely overcrowded

Pre-trial / remand

25.1%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

3.1%

Foreign nationals

2.9%

Conditions risk — across 207 facilities

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

—
national average
207 unknown

How Iran compares

vs Asia (14) & global averages
Rate per 100,000this: 228 · region: 159 · global: 214
Occupancy ratethis: 153% · region: 148% · global: 125%
Pre-trial sharethis: 25% · region: 34% · 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
2001: 158,000+51.9% over 17y2018: 240,000

What we know — and don't

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

What we don't know

  • Conditions inside Evin and Qarchak hard to verify independently.

Reform in Iran

All reform →

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

  • Drug-trafficking penalty amendments2017–ongoing

    sentencing · active

    A 2017 amendment to Iran's anti-drug law raised the quantity thresholds for the mandatory death penalty for drug offences. Sentences for thousands of prisoners on death row for drug offences were reviewed.

Prisons in Iran

Browse all 207 →

207 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

Adelabad Prison

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Alvand Prison

Iran · همدان

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Birjand Central Prison

Iran

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Capacity

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Held

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Borujerd Prison

Iran · بروجرد

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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bzdshtgh `mwmy shhrstn byrjnd

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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bzdshtgh 66 sph

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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bzdshtgh brkhwh

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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bzdshtgh fsryh (qSr fyrwzh)

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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bzdshtgh mnfy chhr wzrt khshwr

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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bzdshtgh mwqt smnn

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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bzdshtgh mwqt snndj

Iran · شهر سنندج

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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bzdshtgh qyrkhrzyn

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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bzdshtgh shnwyh

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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bzdshtgh srdsht

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Castle of Oblivion

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Central Prison

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Central prison of Gonabad

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Central Prison of Quchan

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Central Prison of Torbat-e Heydarieh

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Chobindar Prison

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Correctional Center of Lorestan Province

Iran · خرم آباد

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Darreh Shahr Prison

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Dowletu Prison

Iran

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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drh rndn mynh

Iran · میانه

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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See all 207 prisons in Iran →

Data completeness

100%

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

National population
83,020,0002020
Source-verified
20 May 2026
Source links
2 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.