Penal Reform International · 2024
Global Prison Trends 2024
PRI's flagship annual report on the state of the world's prisons. Documents continued global prison-population growth (~11.5 million worldwide), severe overcrowding affecting more than 60% of national systems, and the criminalisation of poverty as a major driver. Spotlights the disproportionate incarceration of women, the persistence of pre-trial detention without trial, and the rise of mass life-without-parole sentences as an alternative to the death penalty in retentionist states.
Key findings
11.5 million people are held in penal institutions worldwide
— Executive Summary
Pre-trial detainees make up roughly one-third of the global prison population
— Ch. 2
Women's imprisonment is rising faster than men's in most regions
— Ch. 4