Americas · Central America

Mexico

High confidence

Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 28 Feb 2026

Fresh · 1mo ago

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

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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 629 facilities

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

8/100

national average

4 low 625 unknown

abolitionist on capital punishment since 2005. Last known execution: 1961.ICCPR-OP2 (death-penalty abolition protocol): signatory

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

Source: Amnesty International + Cornell Death Penalty Worldwide.

5 documented human-rights cases →

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+52.1% over 24y2024: 235,461

Source: World Prison Brief / unodc

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.

Capacity

—

Held

869

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

Mexico

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

CABORCA

Mexico

Type

State prison

Capacity

—

Held

355

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

—

Mexico · Almoloya de JuÃ¡rez

Maximum

Type

Federal centro penitenciario

Capacity

844

Held

—

CEFERESO No. 11 CPS Sonora

Mexico

Type

Federal centro penitenciario

Capacity

2,520

Held

—

CEFERESO No. 12 CPS Guanajuato

Mexico · Ocampo

Maximum

Type

Federal centro penitenciario

Capacity

2,520

Held

—

See all 629 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.

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

ISO 3166-1 alpha-3: MEX