Number of prisoners in England and Wales 1900-2024, by gender

In 2024, there were 87,869 men and 3,635 women in prisons in England and Wales. Compared with the previous year, this represented an increase for both men and women. This represented a peak in the number of prisoners during this provided time period, and was also the peak for the United Kingdom as a whole.  

Demographics of prisoners

There were 28,524 prisoners in their 30s in England and Wales in 2023, the most of any age group. In this year there were also 3,625 prisoners who were aged between 15 and 20, with a further 21,590 prisoners who were in their 20s. In terms of the ethnicity of prisoners in England and Wales, 61,823 people in jail were White, 10,494 were Black, and 6,840 were Asian. In the same year, the most common religious faith of prisoners was Christianity, at 38,184 inmates, followed by people with no religion at 26,715.

Increase in prison officers since 2017

The 23,614 prison officers working in England and Wales in 2024 was almost as high as 2011 when there were 24,369 officers. From 2010 onwards, the number of prison officers fell from 24,830 to 18,251 by 2014, and stayed at comparably low levels until 2018. Low government expenditure on Prisons during the same time period suggests this was a result of the austerity policies implemented by the UK government at that time. The government has steadily increased spending on prisons since 2019/20, with spending on prisons reaching 6.09 billion in 2022/23. This has however not been enough to avert a possible overcrowding crisis in England and Wales, which had just 768 spare prison places in September 2023.