Moldova has one of the highest prison population rates among 44 Council of Europe member states, according to the 2018 CoE Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations.
With 215.2 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants, Moldova’s rate is more than two times above the European median (102.5), and almost two times below that of the worst performer, Russia (418.3). Romania has 118.1 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants, and our other neighbor, Ukraine, didn’t provide data.
The survey also shows that Moldova is among the European countries with the densest prison populations, with 113.4 inmates per 100 prison places. Of the 12 European countries that have overcrowded prisons, that is, where the number of inmates exceeds prison capacity, Romania is on the penultimate place, with 120.5 inmates per 100 places.
Also, Moldova has one of the worst ratios of inmates per staff, of 2.6, compared to the European average and median of 1.6.
Indicators where Moldova scored above the European median values also include the percentage of female inmates, and the rate of releases.
At the same time, Moldova’s below the median indicators included the percentage of detainees not serving a final sentence, the percentage of foreigners in prison populations, suicides in prison (2017 data), the rate of escape, and the average length of imprisonment.
