Europe · Northern Europe

Norway

High confidence

Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 30 Apr 2026

Fresh · 9d ago

Rehabilitative model with one of the world's lowest two-year recidivism rates (~20%). Maximum sentence under ordinary law is 21 years.

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Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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

3,097

Year: 2026

Rate per 100,000

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

83.1%

At or under capacity

Pre-trial / remand

31.2%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

5.4%

Foreign nationals

28.2%

Conditions risk — across 113 facilities

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

3/100

national average

2 low 111 unknown

How Norway compares

vs Europe (16) & global averages

Rate per 100,000this: 55 · region: 111 · global: 214

Occupancy ratethis: 83% · region: 97% · global: 125%

Pre-trial sharethis: 31% · region: 27% · 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: 2,548+20.6% over 22y2022: 3,072

Reform in Norway

All reform →

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

The Halden Model: rehabilitation-first design2010–ongoing
rehabilitation · active
Halden prison, opened in 2010, embodies Norway's 'normality principle': the punishment IS the loss of liberty, so day-to-day life inside should resemble life outside. Cells have private bathrooms, common rooms have IKEA furniture, and officers eat with inmates. The model has been studied and partially replicated in the US, the Netherlands, and parts of Latin America.

Capacity

115

Held

105

Under capacity (91%)Low

Berg concentration camp

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bergen Fengsel avd. Osteroy

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bergen kretsfengsel

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bergen Prison

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bjorgvin fengsel, Ungdomseininga

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Botsfengselet

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bredtveit fengsel og forvaringsanstalt, avdeling B2

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bredtveit prison

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Det gamle rådhuset

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Espeland concentration camp

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Falstad concentration camp

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Fannrem concentration camp

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Gefangnis Alesund

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

See all 113 prisons in Norway →

Data completeness

100%

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

National population: 5,620,0002026
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
Norwegian Correctional Service — Kriminalomsorgen
See /data-sources for our methodology.

Recent reports

Halden Prison29 Aug 2022
Anders Behring Breivik transferred to HMP Ringerike at his own request. Halden continues to hold ~245 men under the rehabilitative regime.
Norwegian Correctional Service · source