Prison populations across the European Union are on the rise, and with them, complaints about deteriorating conditions. According to Eurostat data for 2024, the number of inmates in the bloc increased by 2% compared to the previous year, reaching one prisoner for every 883 inhabitants. The highest incarceration rates were recorded in Hungary, Poland, Latvia, and Czechia, while Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany had the lowest.
Women remain a small minority in European prisons, accounting for only one in 18 adult inmates. Meanwhile, one in five prisoners across the EU held a foreign citizenship in their reporting country, highlighting the disproportionate impact on non-nationals.
Overcrowding and Violence: A Continental Crisis
The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has raised urgent concerns about conditions in several member states. Following a visit to Greece in January 2025, the CPT reported that many male prisoners are held in "overcrowded" and "wholly unsuitable conditions," which it described as amounting to "inhuman and degrading treatment." Cells and dormitories were infested with bedbugs and cockroaches, often cold, damp, or mouldy, with leaking roofs and ceilings. Sanitary facilities were frequently out of order, and access to hot water or heating was insufficient.
In Portugal, around 230 detainees at Lisbon prison protested in early May, refusing to return to their cells until they could speak with the prison director about unsanitary conditions. The demonstration underscored the growing frustration among inmates across the continent.
Belgium saw a rare nationwide strike by prison staff on 11 May, protesting severe overcrowding, rising violence, and heavy workloads. Belgian prisons currently hold 13,733 inmates, despite an official capacity of just 11,064 places. Authorities report that 754 prisoners are sleeping on mattresses on the floor.
These problems are not isolated. In 2024, 13 EU countries reported overcrowded cells, while 14 had empty cells, indicating a stark imbalance in prison infrastructure across the bloc.
The number of personnel, including police officers, judges, and prison staff, has also increased. The EU's police force has been growing since 2015 and reached its highest level in 2024. However, the ratio of prisoners to prison personnel remained unchanged at 1.9 inmates per staff member, suggesting that staffing increases have not kept pace with rising inmate numbers.
Marcelo Aebi, head of the SPACE research team at the University of Lausanne, noted in a statement to the Council of Europe: "Overcrowding seriously undermines the living conditions of the prison population and the rehabilitation efforts of the prison administrations."
The situation in European prisons reflects broader challenges in the justice system, including the need for investment in infrastructure and alternatives to incarceration. As the EU grapples with these issues, the human cost of overcrowding and poor conditions continues to mount.
