World Prisons
All countries

Americas · Central America

Mexico

High confidence
Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 28 Feb 2026
Fresh · 9d ago

Federal system + 32 state systems. Cartel control inside some state facilities is widely documented.

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Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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

261,388

Year: 2026

Rate per 100,000

192

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

115.2%

Above design capacity

Pre-trial / remand

42.4%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

6.3%

Foreign nationals

1.4%

Conditions risk — across 142 facilities

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

8/100
national average
4 low138 unknown

How Mexico compares

vs Americas (9) & global averages
Rate per 100,000this: 192 · region: 524 · global: 214
Occupancy ratethis: 115% · region: 131% · global: 125%
Pre-trial sharethis: 42% · 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
2000: 154,765+47.7% over 22y2022: 228,530

What we know — and don't

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

What we don't know

  • State-level conditions data varies wildly; some entities publish quarterly, others not in years.

Reform in Mexico

All reform →

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

  • Adversarial criminal justice reform2008–2016

    pre trial detention · active

    Constitutional reform replaced Mexico's inquisitorial trial system with an adversarial one featuring oral hearings, the presumption of innocence, and stricter pre-trial-detention criteria. Implemented in stages, completed across all states by 2016.

Prisons in Mexico

Browse all 142 →

142 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

C.E.R.E.S.O de Queretaro

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Campamento Aserradero

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Campamento Laguna del Toro

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Campamento Morelos

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel de Juqila

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel Municipal

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel Municipal

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel Municipal de Santiago Tianguistenco

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Carcel Publica

Mexico · San Miguel de Comondú

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Castle of San Juan de Ulúa

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

CE.RE.RE.SO. FRESNILLO

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

CE.RE.SO Preventivo Lazaro Cardenas

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

CE.RE.SO Teziutlan

Mexico · Teziutlán

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

CE.RE.SO. #3

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

CeDeCo

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

CEDES Matamoros

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

CEFERESO No. 1 Altiplano

Mexico · Almoloya de Juárez

Maximum

Type

Federal maximum-security

Capacity

—

Held

—

CEFERESO No. 12 (Ocampo, Guanajuato)

Mexico · Ocampo

Maximum

Type

Federal maximum-security

Capacity

—

Held

—

CEFERESO No. 16 Femenil (Morelos)

Mexico · Coatlán del Río

Maximum

Type

Federal female

Capacity

—

Held

—

CEFERESO No. 2 Occidente (Puente Grande)

Mexico · El Salto

Maximum

Type

Federal maximum-security

Capacity

—

Held

—

Low

CEFERESO No. 3 Noreste (Matamoros)

Mexico · Matamoros

Maximum

Type

Federal maximum-security

Capacity

—

Held

—

CEFERESO No. 4 Noroeste (El Rincón)

Mexico · Tepic

Maximum

Type

Federal maximum-security

Capacity

—

Held

—

CEFERESO No. 5 Oriente (Villa Aldama)

Mexico · Villa Aldama

Medium

Type

Federal medium-security

Capacity

—

Held

—

Centro de Atencion Integral Juvenil del Estado

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

See all 142 prisons in Mexico →

Data completeness

100%

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

National population
136,070,0002026
Source-verified
20 May 2026
Source links
2 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.