The overall incarceration rate remained stable in Europe between 2018 and 2019, according to the Council of Europe's annual penal statistics published on Tuesday 7 April. These show only a very slight increase (from 104 to 104.5 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants) in the 45 prison administrations that provided accurate data for these two years.
On 31 January 2019, there were 1,540,484 prisoners in the 50 prison administrations of the 47 Member States for which figures are available, corresponding to a rate of 106%.
Although the overall prison density in Europe is 89.5 prisoners per 100 places, ten countries are seriously overcrowded: Turkey (123), Belgium (121), Italy (119), France (117), Hungary (115), Romania (113), Malta (107), Greece (107), Austria (106) and Serbia (106).
Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, stressed the need to take into account the Statement of principles issued by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, which calls for the use of alternatives to deprivation of liberty and the protection of both the prison population and prison staff. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)