More than half a million women and girls are held in prisons throughout the world, either as remand or sentenced prisoners. In Europe, about 100 000 women and girls are in prison (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2008). Women constitute a very small proportion of the general prison population worldwide, usually between 2% and 9% of a country’s prison population. Only 12 prison systems worldwide report a higher percentage than that. The median level in Europe is . In Europe, Spain has the highest percentage of women in prison (almost 8%) and Azerbaijan the lowest (less than ).
