Community Corrections Systems in Europe

European prisons hold about 13.6% of the global prison population. Eight of the 50 largest prison systems globally are in Europe. Examination of prison population trends in Europe for the period 2000–2021 reveals that Europe is the only global region that has experienced a significant reduction in its prison population (a 27% reduction). However, the authors of the World Prison Brief present a more nuanced assessment of this recent region-wide decline: Europe is the only continent that has seen a fall in its total prison population since 2000. The scale of the decrease is heavily influenced by the figures for the Russian Federation: Russia's prison population is by far the largest in Europe and has fallen by 56%. Excluding the Russian Federation, the prison population in Europe has risen by 5% since 2000. Russia is not the only part of Europe that has seen a large fall in its prison population: prisoner numbers in central and eastern Europe (excluding Russia) have fallen by 49% since 2000. By contrast, there has been growth in the other regions of Europe: 2% in western Europe, 3% in northern Europe and 19% in southern Europe. (2021: 18)