Prison population and capacity in Italy 2023, by region

As of July 2023, the Italian region with the highest number of prisoners was Lombardy. Its prison population amounted to about 8,370, approximately 2,200 individuals over the regional facilities’ capacity. Lombardy, however, was also the most populated Italian region by far.

Prisons overcrowding in Italy

According to the latest data, the current population in confinement across the whole Italian territory amounts to 53.7 thousand inmates, whereas the operational capacity is limited to 50.5 thousand. Zooming in, the situation in some prisons is rather dramatic, with a number of facilities in the country hosting almost twice the inmates their capacity would allow. In particular, the prison of Taranto, located in the South Italian region Apulia, was the most overcrowded one as of the beginning of 2021.

Trends in the prison population

The number of prisoners in Italy fluctuated between 2000 and 2021, peaking in 2010 at almost 68 thousand inmates. However, the number of inmates decreased in 2020 and 2021. Due to the coronavirus crisis, certain prisoners were released under supervision in order to reduce overcrowding and decrease the risk of infections. Among the adult prison population in 2019, the most common reasons for incarceration were crimes related to the use and illegal dealing of drugs and psychotropic substances.