World Prisons
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Norway · Vestfold · Horten

Bastøy Prison

Open prisonMinimummaleUnder capacity (91%)LowHigh
Verified · Data dated
Aging · 5mo ago
Sources last reviewed on · data-as-of

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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

For families

How to send mail, money, and visit Bastøy Prison

Step-by-step guidance using the Norway system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

Open toolkit
Photograph of Bastøy Prison

Island prison housing inmates in small wooden cottages. Inmates work farms, forestry, and ferry crews. Rehabilitation-first model.

Capacity

115

Current population

105

Occupancy

91%

Year opened

1982

Operational

Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Population held

male

Opened

1982

Region

Vestfold

Security level

Minimum

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

World's only ecological prison. Subject of multiple international documentaries on humane incarceration models.

Visiting

Visitors arrive via the prison-operated ferry from Horten. Day and overnight family visits scheduled with prison staff.

Mailing

Standard postal mail; minimal screening due to low-security regime.

Practical info

The ferry is operated by inmates as part of their work programme.

Known issues

No major issues documented in our database.

Notable inmates

Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.

Contact & address

Bastøy Island, Horten 3193
+47 33 09 11 11
[email protected]
Official site

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

0/100
Low concern0/100
Overcrowding
0/30
Oversight reports
0/30
Structural flags
0/15
Death signals
0/15
Conditions text
0/10

This facility scores 0. The national average across 144 scored Norway facilities is 3 — 3 points below national average.

Related facilities

All in Norway →

Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.

Compared to other facilities in Norway

143 peers
Conditions risk scorethis: 0/100 · peers avg: 6/100 (100%)

Higher risk than 0% of peer facilities in Norway.

Occupancythis: 91% · peers avg: 97% (6%)
Capacity (beds)this: 115 · peers avg: 119047510 (100%)

Data completeness

100%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources

Cite this page

Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.

APA
World Prisons. (2026). Bastøy Prison. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/bastoy
Chicago
"Bastøy Prison." World Prisons. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/bastoy.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-bastoy,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {Bastøy Prison},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/bastoy},
  urldate = {2026-10-15}
}