Prisoners

The average daily number of prisoners has dropped throughout the past ten years with the exception of 2016 when the number increased slightly. In 2017, the average number of prisoners was 3 035, which was 3 per cent less than the year before.

The number of foreign prisoners was one and a half times higher than a decade ago. Their share of all prisoners stood at 18 per cent. In 2017, the average daily number of foreign prisoners was 540. They represented 69 different nationalities in total.

The prison population rate of Finland is still one of the lowest in Europe. In the United States and Russia, the corresponding prison population rate is about ten times higher than in Finland. The other Nordic countries have approximately the same prison population rates as Finland.

Key figures of 2017

• The number of life sentence prisoners was 195 (200) at the beginning of 2018.
• The average length of life sentences was about 14 years.
• The daily average number of young prisoners under the age of 21 years was 95 (89).
• The daily average number of female prisoners was 230 (229).
• The daily average number of fine default prisoners was 55 (57).
• The daily average number of remand prisoners was 597 (585).

(in brackets is the figure from the previous year)

Development of prison population 2000 - 2017