World Prisons
All countries

Europe · Southern Europe

Spain

High confidence
Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 31 Dec 2024
Fresh · 9d ago

Centralised system (state) except in Catalonia and the Basque Country which operate regional services.

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Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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

59,226

Year: 2024

Rate per 100,000

121

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

73.6%

At or under capacity

Pre-trial / remand

17.7%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

7%

Foreign nationals

32.7%

Conditions risk — across 240 facilities

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

—
national average
240 unknown

How Spain compares

vs Europe (16) & global averages
Rate per 100,000this: 121 · region: 107 · global: 214
Occupancy ratethis: 74% · region: 98% · global: 125%
Pre-trial sharethis: 18% · 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: 45,309+21.6% over 22y2022: 55,095

Reform in Spain

All reform →

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

  • Third-degree (open prison) regime1979–ongoing

    rehabilitation · active

    Spain's three-degree progression places long-term prisoners into 'third degree' open conditions allowing daily work or study outside the prison, returning at night. Originally legislated in 1979 (Ley Orgánica General Penitenciaria) and routinely used today.

Prisons in Spain

Browse all 240 →

240 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

A Parda Prison

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Albatera concentration camp

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Alcalá-Meco Prison

Spain · Alcalá de Henares

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Alicante Museum of Contemporary Art

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Amorebieta women prison

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Antic Palau

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Antigua Cárcel

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Antigua Carcel de Ares del Maestre

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Antigua Carcel de Lozoyuela

Spain · Lozoyuela

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Antigua carcel de mujeres de Malaga

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Antigua Prision Provincial de Murcia

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Arsenal de la Carraca

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Ávila Correctional Center

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Basauri prison

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Basauriko kartzela

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Betanzos concentration camp

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

2,000

Held

—

Botafuegos Prison

Spain · Algeciras

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Burgos Penitenciary Center

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

C.I.M.I. Medina Azahara

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

C.I.M.I. Sierra Morena

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Calabozo

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Camp de concentració d'Horta

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Camp Lukacs

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Campament dels Soldats

Spain

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

See all 240 prisons in Spain →

Data completeness

100%

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

National population
49,080,0002024
Source-verified
20 May 2026
Source links
2 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.