The prison population has fallen since lockdown measures were introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the end of February, the UK prison population has shrunk by around 5,500 people or 6%. The prison population of England & Wales quadrupled in size between 1900 and 2018, with around half of this increase taking place since 1990.
44% of prisons in England and Wales were classified as crowded.
The average annual prison population quadrupled between 1900 and 2020, going from just over 17,400 to around 80,000. The prison population was relatively stable between 1915 and 1945. From 1940 the prison population grew steadily, although there was a small period in the early 1990s when it decreased for four consecutive years before rising steeply again in the subsequent decade. Since 2010, the average prison population has remained relatively stable.
167 prisoners per 100,000 of the population in England and Wales.
The UK general population also grew during this time. To put the numbers in context, in 1900 there were 86 prisoners per 100,000 people in the general population and in 2020 there were 135 per 100,000. The lowest rate recorded was at the start of the 1940s when there were around 33 prisoners per 100,000 people.
The prison population is ageing: in 2002, 15% were under the age of 21 compared with 5% in 2021 and the number over the age of 50 went from 7% in 2002 to 17% in 2021;
In 2020, 4% of the prison population was female, down from 17% in 1900. The chart below shows that the decline has been relatively steady over time. The proportion of the prison population that was female 2% which occurred in 1968 and 1969.
Each jurisdiction also publishes data on the cost per prisoner or prison place. In 2019/20
The average cost per prison place was £30,312 in England and Wales, £38,213 in Scotland, and £43,029 in Northern Ireland.
Foreign nationals from Europe accounted for the greatest proportion of all foreign nationals within the prison population (47% from EEA countries and a further 12% from non-EEA European countries).16 Those from Africa (17%) and Asia (12%) contributed the second and third largest proportion respectively. Prisoners originating from the EEA made up just under 5% of the total prison
population.
The top ten countries foreign nationalities accounted for 57% of all foreign nationals. As shown in the table on the overleaf
As at the end of June 2021, just over a quarter of the prison population was from a minority ethnic group – this figure has stayed relatively constant since 2004.
At the end of June 2021, just under half of the prison population was of a Christian faith (45%) – a decrease of 13 percentage points compared with June 2002. The proportion of Muslim prisoners has increased from 8% in 2002 to 18% in 2021. The proportion of prisoners with no religion in 2021 (31%) was
the same as in 2002.