World Prisons
All countries

Europe · Southern Europe

Portugal

High confidence
Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 1 May 2026
Fresh · 1mo ago
Compare PortugalWorld 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Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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 152 facilities

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

—
national average
152 unknown
abolitionist on capital punishment since 1976. Last known execution: 1849.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.
57 documented human-rights cases →

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: 12,944-3.4% over 24y2024: 12,507

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

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 152 →

152 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

Antiga Cadeia Comarcã de Sintra

Portugal

Type

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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

—

Câmara Municipal e Cadeia de Óbidos

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Câmara Municipal e Cadeia de Évora Monte

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Câmara Municipal e Cadeia de Cabeço de Vide

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Câmara Municipal e Cadeia de Freixo de Numão

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Câmara Municipal e Cadeia de Refojos de Basto

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Câmara Municipal e Cadeia de São João da Pesqueira

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Câmara Municipal, Cadeia Comarcã e Torre do Relógio de Messejana

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Câmara Municipal, Tribunal e Cadeia de Marialva

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Civil de Valenca

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarca de Cinfaes

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarca de Leiria

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarca de Tomar

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 Comarcã de Estremoz

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Felgueiras

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Lagos

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Melgaço

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cadeia Comarcã de Oliveira de Azeméis

Portugal

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

See all 152 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.

ISO 3166-1 alpha-3
PRT