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A report by the University of Lausanne has revealed that France and Turkey top the list of European countries with the highest levels of prison overcrowding.
The figures compiled by the University of Lausanne date back to early 2025. French authorities have provided more recent figures showing prison overcrowding estimated at 139.1% in April 2026, according to AFP.
No fewer than 14 out of the 51 prison administrations that supplied data reported having more inmates than available places.
Croatia, with 123 prisoners per 100 places, ranked third among European countries with overcrowded prisons, while Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Hungary, Belgium, and Ireland ranked fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively.
The better performers include Ukraine at 50, Spain at 77, and Germany at 80.
The countries with the highest incarceration rates are Turkey (458 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants), Azerbaijan (271), and Moldova (245).
Among European Union member states, the highest incarceration rates include Hungary (206), Poland (189), and the Czech Republic (178).
Overall, as of January 31, 2025, there were just over 1.1 million inmates across all the countries studied, an 8.5% year-on-year increase.
The proportion of women prisoners rose from 4.8% to 5.2% between January 2024 and January 2025.
