Prison population and capacity in Italy 2024

As of October 2024, the operational capacity of Italian prisons was about 51,100 inmates. However, there were roughly 62,100 prisoners incarcerated in all Italian penal institutions, over 11,000 more than the regulatory capacity. Indeed, most Italian regions were affected by the overpopulation of jails.

Prison population in Italy

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the number of inmates in Italian jails remained rather stable. In the period between 2000 and 2019, the lowest prison population was registered in 2006, whereas the highest number of inmates in custody was reported in 2010. However, the number of detainees in 2020 experienced a decrease. During the coronavirus emergency, certain prisoners were released under supervision in order to reduce overcrowding.

Perception of prison overpopulation

Italians are aware that the number of inmates in the country’s prisons exceeds the operational capacity. However, in 2018 Italian respondents believed that the penal institutions in their country were more overcrowded than they actually were.