Prison mental health statistics worldwide

Updated October 2026

People in prison have far higher rates of mental illness than people outside. The key figures below show how often, from meta-analyses that pooled studies across many countries, published in journals such as The British Journal of Psychiatry ¹ and The Lancet Psychiatry. Many arrive with problems that began long before, including trauma, substance use and poverty, and prison itself can add to them. Most people in prison return to their communities, so their mental health matters well beyond the prison walls.

The figures below come from reviews that pooled studies across many countries and from national studies on every continent. Some national studies covered one prison or one region, and each figure says so. An odds ratio compares how likely something is in one group with another: above one means more likely, below one less likely. A meta-analysis, or pooled estimate, combines the results of many studies into one figure.

Getting help

If something on this page reflects what you are going through, you do not have to manage it alone. Our guide to finding the right therapist explains how to choose someone qualified, and the TherapyRoute directory lists therapists in many countries.

If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, our list of helplines and crisis lines worldwide gives free services by country. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.

How many people are in prison

Prison populations have grown worldwide in recent decades, and most people in prison live in low and middle income countries.

• Worldwide, about 140 per 100,000 people were in prison, based on the latest national figures available in April 2024. (administrative records, at one point in time, 2024 data) ⁵
• Since about the year 2000, the number of people in prison worldwide has grown by 27%. (administrative records, 2024 data) ⁵
• More than 30 million people pass through prisons around the world each year. (published 2016, year not stated) ⁶
• Low and middle income countries hold about 70% of the world prison population. (at one point in time, published 2019, year not stated) ⁷
• Women make up 6.8% of the world prison population, a share that is rising in most countries. (at one point in time, published 2018, year not stated) ²

Mental illness in prison worldwide

Reviews that pooled surveys of people in prison found high rates of depression and psychosis. In low and middle income countries, psychosis was far more common in prison than in the general population.

• Among women in prison, 14.1% had major depression. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2012) ¹
• Among women in prison, the pooled rate of psychotic illness was 3.9%. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2012) ¹
• Studies from low and middle income countries found psychotic illness in 5.5% of people in prison, higher than elsewhere. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2012) ¹
• In prisons in low and middle income countries, 16.0% of people had major depression in the past year. (pooled from prevalence studies, past 12 months, published 2019) ⁷
• In prisons in low and middle income countries, 6.2% of people had a psychotic illness in the past year. (pooled from prevalence studies, past 12 months, published 2019) ⁷
• In low and middle income countries, non-affective psychosis (psychosis without a mood disorder, such as schizophrenia) was 15.8 times more common in prison than in the general population. (meta-analysis of studies, past 12 months, published 2019) ⁷

Trauma and women in prison

Women in prison report trauma and post-traumatic stress far more often than men, and many arrive with drug use problems.

• Across pooled studies, 40.4% of women in prison had post traumatic stress disorder at some point in their lives. (pooled from prevalence studies, lifetime (ever), published 2018) ²
• At any one time, 6.2% of men in prison had post traumatic stress disorder, across pooled studies. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2018) ²
• Among women arriving in prison, the pooled rate of drug use disorder in the previous twelve months was 51%. (pooled from prevalence studies, past 12 months, published 2017) ⁸

Young people in detention

Young people in detention have high rates of depression, post-traumatic stress and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Depression and post-traumatic stress are more common in girls than boys. These are group averages from studies of young people in detention, not figures for any one young person.

• Among boys in juvenile detention, 10.1% had major depression. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2021) ³
• Among boys in juvenile detention, 8.6% had post traumatic stress disorder. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2021) ³
• Among girls in juvenile detention, 18.2% had post traumatic stress disorder. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2021) ³
• Among girls in juvenile detention, 17.5% had a diagnosis of ADHD. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2021) ³
• Among boys aged fifteen to seventeen held on remand, in custody awaiting trial, in east Denmark, 69% had a mental disorder in the past year. (survey published 2003, fieldwork year not stated) ⁹

Substance use

Alcohol and drug use problems are common among people arriving in prison, yet treatment on entry is uneven.

• Among people arriving in prison, the pooled rate of alcohol use disorder in the previous twelve months was 24%. (pooled from prevalence studies, past 12 months, published 2017) ⁸
• On entering Irish prisons, at committal, the pooled rate of substance use disorder was 50.9%. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2019) ¹⁰
• Only 34% of jails in the United States offered any detoxification treatment, medical help to come off alcohol or drugs safely, according to one survey. (survey, at one point in time, published 2016, fieldwork year not stated) ⁶
• In Ireland, 17.4% of people were homeless when they entered prison. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2019) ¹⁰

Treatment and what helps

Many people in prison with mental health problems receive no care. Trials have tested psychological programmes in prison. They may ease distress, and some show less reoffending. When the review left out the small trials, the effect on reoffending was uncertain.

• In one study, 90% of people in prison with post traumatic stress disorder had unmet needs for psychiatric care, including medication and psychological treatment. (published 2018, year not stated) ²
• Among people aged eighteen and over in state prisons in the United States with a history of a mental health problem, 63% said they had received mental health treatment since they arrived. (survey, 2016 data) ¹¹
• In three prisons in southwestern Uganda, only 7% of people had ever sought professional psychiatric help. (survey, lifetime (ever), 2017 data) ¹²

National figures

These national and local studies used different methods and samples. Several covered one prison or one region, and each figure names its population.

• In the United States, 14% of people in state prisons reported serious psychological distress in the past thirty days, in a national survey in 2016. (survey, 2016 data) ¹¹
• In state prisons in the United States, 19% of women reported serious psychological distress in the past thirty days, more than men. (survey, 2016 data) ¹¹
• In the United States, 43% of people in state prisons reported a history of a mental health problem. (survey, lifetime (ever), 2016 data) ¹¹
• In the United States, 27% of people in state prisons said a professional had told them they had major depressive disorder, the most common condition reported. (survey, lifetime (ever), 2016 data) ¹¹
• In Canada, 73% of men entering federal prison met criteria for a current mental disorder, including substance use disorders. (survey, at one point in time, published 2016, fieldwork year not stated) ¹³
• In three prisons in southwestern Uganda, 44% of people met criteria for major depression, current, past or recurrent. (survey, at one point in time, 2017 data) ¹²
• In a prison in Durban, South Africa, 55.4% of people had a major (Axis I) mental disorder, not counting personality disorders. Substance or alcohol use disorders were the most common; depression, anxiety and psychosis also occurred. Axis I was the main group of diagnoses in an older edition of the psychiatric diagnostic manual. (survey, at one point in time, published 2012, fieldwork year not stated) ¹⁴
• In a medium security prison in Ghana, 49.8% of sentenced people had at least one psychiatric disorder. (survey, at one point in time, published 2023, fieldwork year not stated) ¹⁵
• In Santiago, Chile, 54% of men admitted to prison had current major depression. (survey, 2013 data) ¹⁶
• In Santiago, Chile, 43% of women admitted to prison had current major depression. (survey, 2013 data) ¹⁶
• In prisons in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 39.2% of women had a mental disorder in the past year. (survey, past 12 months, published 2014, fieldwork year not stated) ¹⁷
• In prisons in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 22.1% of men had a mental disorder in the past year. (survey, past 12 months, published 2014, fieldwork year not stated) ¹⁷
• In Iran, 57% of sentenced people in prison had a current major (Axis I) mental disorder, not counting personality disorders. (survey, at one point in time, published 2006, fieldwork year not stated) ¹⁸
• Major depressive disorder, found in 29% of sentenced people in prison in Iran, was the most common current diagnosis. (survey, at one point in time, published 2006, fieldwork year not stated) ¹⁸
• In a provincial women’s prison in Hunan, China, 26.1% of women met criteria for a current mental disorder. (survey, at one point in time, published 2020, fieldwork year not stated) ¹⁹
• Current major depression, the most common diagnosis, affected 14.7% of women in the Hunan provincial prison in China. (survey, at one point in time, published 2020, fieldwork year not stated) ¹⁹
• In one prison in western Uttar Pradesh, India, 59% of people had anxiety or depression on clinician rating scales. (survey, at one point in time, published 2026, fieldwork year not stated) ²⁰
• In a sample of people nearing the end of a prison sentence in Spain, recruited from a work programme, 59.0% had a current Axis I disorder, most often a learning disorder or ADHD. (survey, at one point in time, published 2022, fieldwork year not stated) ²¹
• Across studies in Australia and New Zealand, 69.0% of adults in prison had a mental illness at some point in their lives. (pooled from prevalence studies, lifetime (ever), published 2024) ²²
• In prisons in Australia and New Zealand, 54.0% of adults had a current mental illness. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2024) ²²
• In prisons in Australia and New Zealand, 6.4% of adults had a current psychotic illness. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2024) ²²
• At committal to Irish prisons, the pooled rate of psychotic disorder was 3.6%. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2019) ¹⁰

National figures side by side

These figures come from studies with different methods, samples and dates. Several covered a single prison. Read each row with its label, and do not rank the countries.

How to read these figures

Many prison studies are small or cover one prison, and their figures may not hold for a whole country.

Screening questionnaires flag possible problems; diagnostic interviews confirm them.

Some national figures, including the United States survey, rely on what people said about their own diagnoses rather than an interview.

Several studies are old, and prison conditions and services have changed since.

Good mental health care in prison, and care that carries on after release, aim to reduce distress, self-harm and reoffending. Trials are testing how well they do.

If someone close to you is in prison or has recently left prison and is struggling, a psychologist or counsellor can help, and so can services that support families. Our guide on how to find the right therapist explains what to look for. If you are in distress right now, see our helplines and crisis lines worldwide.

Cite this page: TherapyRoute. Prison mental health statistics worldwide. https://www.therapyroute.com/article/prison-mental-health-statistics-worldwide-by-therapyroute. Last updated 15 October 2026.

References

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