PRI: Global Prison Trends 2023 is PRI’s annual flagship report, published with the Thailand Institute of Justice, examining key trends and challenges in prison systems worldwide.

This 2023 edition exposes the impact of economic crises and rising costs of food, transport and energy bills on prison systems, detained persons, and their families. Two years after the adoption of the Kyoto Declaration and the UN Common Position on Incarceration, it also shows little progress has been made in moving away from using imprisonment as the ‘default’ response and towards improved proportionality in sentencing.

With a record 11.5 million people in prison worldwide and 120 countries operating above capacity, Global Prison Trends 2023 examines the impact of prison overcrowding in all aspects of prison life and management, from healthcare and nutrition to rehabilitation and countering violence and criminal subcultures in prison.

Read the full report: Global Prison Trends 2023