Cyprus recorded the highest prison overcrowding rate in the European Union in 2024, according to data published by Eurostat on Thursday.
More specifically, the prison occupancy rate in Cyprus reached 227.6 in 2024, the highest among all EU member states. Slovenia followed with 134.2 and France with 129.3. The lowest occupancy levels were recorded in Estonia at 49.9, Lithuania at 67.0 and Luxembourg at 67.4.
According to the figures, the number of prisoners in Cyprus stood at 965 in 2024, compared with 959 in 2023. The number of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants was 99.86 in 2024, marking a slight decrease from 101.04 in 2023.
At European Union level, the total prison population reached 508,746 in 2024, representing a 2% increase compared with 2023. According to Eurostat, recent trends show a steady rise since 2020, when the lowest figure was recorded at 463,376 prisoners. Since then, the number of prisoners across the EU has increased by 9.8%.
In 2024, the EU average stood at 113 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with 111 in 2023.
The highest prisoner rates per 100,000 inhabitants were recorded in Hungary with 193, Poland with 191 and Latvia with 187. By contrast, the lowest rates were observed in Finland with 57, the Netherlands with 67, and Denmark and Germany with 70 each.
In absolute terms, the largest prison populations in 2024 were recorded in France with 80,699 prisoners, followed by Poland with 69,850 and Italy with 63,524.