CYPRUS IS FIRST IN PRISON OVERCROWDING IN THE EU - WHAT EUROSTAT DATA SHOWS - Filenews 7/5
Cyprus recorded the highest prison overcrowding rate in the European Union in 2024, according to data published on Thursday by Eurostat.
In particular, the prison occupancy rate in Cyprus stood at 227.6 in 2024, the highest rate among EU Member States. They were followed by Slovenia with 134.2 and France with 129.3. The lowest occupancy levels were recorded in Estonia with 49.9, Lithuania with 67.0 and Luxembourg with 67.4.
According to the data, in Cyprus the number of prisoners amounted to 965 in 2024, compared to 959 in 2023. The percentage of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants stood at 99.86 in 2024, showing a decrease compared to 101.04 in 2023.
At the level of the European Union, the total number of prisoners in 2024 amounted to 508,746, an increase of 2% compared to 2023. According to Eurostat, the trend of recent years shows an increase since 2020, when the lowest level was recorded with 463,376 prisoners. Since then, the number of prisoners in the EU has increased by 9.8%.
In 2024, there were an average of 113 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants in the EU, compared to 111 in 2023.
The highest rates of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants were recorded in Hungary with 193, Poland with 191 and Latvia with 187. In contrast, the lowest rates were recorded in Finland with 57, in the Netherlands with 67 and in Denmark and Germany with 70 each.
In absolute numbers, in 2024 they were recorded in France with 80,699 prisoners, in Poland with 69,850 and in Italy with 63,524.
CNA
