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Albania second in Europe for the highest number of prisoners in relation to population

Politiko 2025-05-05 19:13:39

Albania second in Europe for the highest number of prisoners in relation to

In Albania, prisons are overcrowded, compared to most of Europe. According to the latest Eurostat data, Albania ranks fourth in Europe for the number of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, with a rate of 182.

This figure is significantly higher than the European Union average, which was 111 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants. According to Eurostat, in 2023 there were 5,017 prisoners in Albania. Eurostat made the calculation using old population data of 2.75 million inhabitants. Calculated by Monitor, according to the 2023 Census data, of 2.42 million inhabitants, the prison ratio increases to 207.

After the review, Albania ranks second in Europe after Turkey (342 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants), leaving behind Poland (203), and Hungary (187).

Our country is also a record in the region, followed by Serbia (158), Montenegro (166), and North Macedonia (146). The lowest number of prisoners in relation to population is in Kosovo, with about 100 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the World Prison Brief.

According to Eurostat data for 2023, there were around 499,000 prisoners in the European Union, which represents an increase of 3.2% compared to the previous year. This translates to 111 prisoners for every 100,000 inhabitants, slightly more than the previous year, when the rate was 108.

At the European level, this means that one person was in prison for every 897 inhabitants. Although the current number is higher than in recent years, it remains significantly lower than in 2012, when there were over 550,000 prisoners in the EU – the highest level recorded since 1993.

There are large differences between EU countries in terms of the prison population rate. Some countries such as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have rates significantly higher than the European average, while others such as Finland, the Netherlands and Slovenia report much lower figures.

Thus, Finland has the lowest rate in Europe with only 53 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by the Netherlands with 66 and Slovenia with 68. These figures clearly reflect the deep differences in penal policies, with some countries favoring punishment through imprisonment, while others invest in alternative forms such as probation, rehabilitation or restorative justice.

The demographic structure of the prison population in the EU remains relatively stable. In 2023, only 5.4% of adult prisoners were women, a proportion that has remained almost unchanged since 2016. However, there are significant differences between countries in gender participation, with some countries reporting higher proportions of women in prison, while others remain at minimal levels.

Another important aspect is the composition by nationality. In 2023, one in five prisoners in EU countries was a foreign national in the country where they were imprisoned. The average percentage of foreigners was 20.6%, almost the same as last year. Here too, there are large differences between countries: some have very high percentages of foreign prisoners, while others register an almost negligible participation./Monitor