Europe · Southern Europe

Portugal

High confidence

Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 1 May 2026

Fresh · 9d ago

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Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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

13,475

Year: 2026

Rate per 100,000

124

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

106%

Above design capacity

Pre-trial / remand

24.5%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

7.3%

Foreign nationals

18.3%

Conditions risk — across 128 facilities

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

—

national average

128 unknown

How Portugal compares

vs Europe (16) & global averages

Rate per 100,000this: 124 · region: 107 · global: 214

Occupancy ratethis: 106% · region: 96% · global: 125%

Pre-trial sharethis: 25% · region: 28% · 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: 12,944-4.3% over 22y2022: 12,383

Reform in Portugal

All reform →

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

Drug decriminalisation2001–ongoing
alternatives · active
Portugal decriminalised possession of small quantities of all drugs in 2001, redirecting users from criminal courts to Dissuasion Commissions which can refer them to treatment. Drug supply remains criminalised.

Prisons in Portugal

Browse all 128 →

128 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

Antiga Cadeia Comarcã de Sintra

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Antiga Cadeia Municipal e armazéns anexos

Portugal

Type

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Capacity

—

Held

—

Antiga prisao

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Antiga Prisao de Castro Verde

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Civil de Valenca

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã da Horta / Cadeia de Apoio da Horta

Portugal · Horta (Matriz)

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Arganil

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Cantanhede / Posto da GNR, Guarda Nacional Republicana

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarca de Cinfaes

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Estremoz

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Felgueiras

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Lagos

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarca de Leiria

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Melgaço

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Oliveira de Azeméis

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Pombal

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Porto de Mós

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Soure

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarca de Tomar

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia da Comarca de Alenquer

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia da Comarca de Amarante

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia da Comarca de Castro Daire

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia da Comarca de Covilha

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia da Comarca de Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

See all 128 prisons in Portugal →

Data completeness

90%

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

National population: 10,900,0002026
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
Council of Europe — SPACE statistics — Council of Europe
See /data-sources for our methodology.