World Prisons
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Europe · Northern Europe

Norway

High confidence
Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 30 Apr 2026
Fresh · 1mo ago

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

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Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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

55

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 144 facilities

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

3/100
national average
2 low142 unknown
abolitionist on capital punishment since 1979. Last known execution: 1948.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.
11 documented human-rights cases →

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+31.8% over 24y2024: 3,359

Source: World Prison Brief / unodc / eurostat / Council of Europe SPACE I

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.

Prisons in Norway

Browse all 144 →

144 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

Åna Prison

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Ånebyleiren

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Agder fengsel, Evje avdeling

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Agder fengsel, Froland avdeling

Norway · Froland

High security

Type

Prison

Capacity

—

Held

—

Agder fengsel, Mandal avdeling

Norway · Mandal

High security

Type

Prison

Capacity

—

Held

—

Agder fengsel, Solholmen overgangsbolig

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Agder fengsel, ungdomsenhet sørvest

Norway

Low security

Type

Prison

Capacity

—

Held

—

Ålesund fengsel

Norway

High security

Type

Prison

Capacity

—

Held

—

Åna fengsel

Norway

High security

Type

Prison

Capacity

—

Held

—

Åna fengsel, Rødgata avdeling

Norway · Rødgata

Low security

Type

Prison

Capacity

24

Held

—

Austrattleiren

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bardufoss concentration camp

Norway

Type

Concentration camp

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bardufoss Prison Camp

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bastøy Prison

Norway · Horten

Minimum

Type

Open prison

Capacity

115

Held

105

Under capacity (91%)Low

Bastøy fengsel

Norway

Low security

Type

Prison

Capacity

—

Held

—

Berg concentration camp

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bergen fengsel

Norway

Low security

Type

Prison

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bergen Fengsel avd. Osteroy

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bergen kretsfengsel

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bergen Prison

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bjørgvin fengsel

Norway

Low security

Type

Prison

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bjørgvin fengsel, Ungdomseininga

Norway

Low security

Type

Prison

Capacity

—

Held

—

Botsfengselet

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bredtveit fengsel og forvaringsanstalt, avdeling B2

Norway

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

See all 144 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.

ISO 3166-1 alpha-3
NOR