The number of prisoners in the EU rose to 508,746 in 2024, up 2.0% from 2023.
The total had been falling since 2012, when there were 552,954 prisoners, before reaching a low of 463,376 in 2020, Eurostat revealed on Thursday.
Since then, the number has increased by 9.8%.
There were 113 prisoners per 100,000 people in 2024, slightly higher than the 111 recorded a year earlier.
Hungary had the highest imprisonment rate in the EU, with 193 prisoners per 100,000 people, followed by Poland (191) and Latvia (187).
The lowest rates were in Finland (57), the Netherlands (67), and Denmark and Germany (70 each).
Overcrowding reported in 14 EU countries
Fourteen EU countries had overcrowded prisons in 2024, the same number as in 2023, according to Eurostat.
The statistical agency defined overcrowding as situations where there are more prisoners in a prison than it was designed to hold.
Cyprus recorded the highest occupancy rate at 227.6%, followed by Slovenia (134.2%) and France (129.3%).
The lowest occupancy rates were reported in Estonia (49.9%), Lithuania (67.0%) and Luxembourg (67.4%).
