People in Prison

In this section we look at the overall numbers of people in prison over time and their characteristics. To do so we use two distinct methods of counting the population: the average daily population, which accounts for the different amount of time each individual spends in custody, and a count of unique individuals with the given characteristics who spent any time in custody over the analytical period.

Average Daily Populations (ADP) are used here to examine the overall size of the population annually, quarterly and monthly. For the personal characteristics of people in prison we use the count of individuals as a measure of the impact of imprisonment across the population and within specific groups.

Average daily populations

[Supplementary Tables A1]

The average daily prison population[i] (ADP) in 2024-25 was 8,216. This is an increase of 4.5% from the previous year (7,860) and is the highest ADP recorded, exceeding the previous recorded high of 2019-20 (8,198).

Figure 1 shows the fluctuations in the prison populations over the last five decades, with previous publications relying variously on aggregated data, collections of snapshots and individual snapshot days at different points in their history. The statistics in the rest of this publication are drawn from the cellWise dataset, which is derived from records of cell allocations from 2009-10 onwards. Comparisons between different sources are provided in the Source Comparison section.

Figure 1: The prison population has fluctuated over time, rising and falling sharply between 2017-18 and 2020-21 before stabilising then rising again from 2022-23

Long-term trends in the average daily prison population, 1970 to 2024-25

The following commentary relates to the data produced using the cellWise method covering the period from 2009-10.

The average daily prison population grew to a peak in 2011-12 when it reached 8,134 (Figure 1). It then fell year-on-year to 7,465 in 2017-18 . In the years prior to the pandemic, the prison population grew rapidly to exceed the previous peak. In 2019-20 the average daily population was 8,198.

In 2020-21 there was a rapid decrease in the average daily prison population to 7,340. As discussed in previous editions of this publication[ii], this was likely caused by the impact of the Covid pandemic and related public health measures on the justice system.

For the following two years, the average daily prison population remained at this lower level (7,507 in 2021-22 and 7,427 in 2022-23) before increasing to 7,860 in 2023-24 and then to 8,216 in 2024-25.

Monthly and quarterly variations

Figure 2 shows the month-to-month changes in the prison population from January 2020 to March 2025. It shows the steady increase in the average daily population between January 2023 (7,380) and November 2023 (7,980). The population then rose rapidly between March and May 2024.

Measures taken to manage prison population levels in 2024-25 include an emergency early release (EER)[iii] of eligible short sentence prisoners (those serving an overall sentence of less than 4 years) in summer 2024 and new legislation to amend the release point of short sentence prisoners[iv] in late 2024.

The revised release point of short sentence prisoners (from 50% to 40% of their sentence served) commenced in February 2025. On commencement of the Prisoner Early Release (Scotland) Act 2025[v], 312 immediately eligible short sentence prisoners were released in tranches between 18th February and 20th March 2025[vi].

The emergency early release of 477 eligible short sentence prisoners took place between 26th June and 25th July 2024[vii].  

Figure 2: The pandemic impacts and subsequent stability in the population are followed by a period of rapid rise between January and November 2023, in quarter one of 2024 and fluctuations due to population management measures

Monthly and quarterly prison populations, January 2020 through March 2025

Individuals experiencing imprisonment

[Supplementary Tables B2]

The number of individuals[viii] who spent any time in prison increased by 3% in 2024-25 (+443 from 15,349 in 2023-24 to 15,792 - see Figure 3).

Prior to the pandemic there was a long term downward trend in the numbers of individuals experiencing imprisonment. During 2020-21 there was a sharp decrease in the number of individuals, and in the following two reporting years there were small increases. In 2023-24 the rise in the number of individuals was greater and this upward trend continued through 2024-25. Nevertheless, the number of individuals experiencing imprisonment remains 9% below pre-pandemic levels (17,312 in 2019-20).

Note that the measure of individuals differs from average daily population measures. Here, each individual is given equal weight regardless of how long they spent in prison.

Figure 3: The number of individuals experiencing custody has risen in 2024-25, but remains lower than the pre-pandemic levels

Unique individuals spending any time in prison, 2009-10 to 2024-25

The rest of this section examines the characteristics of individuals experiencing imprisonment.

Age

[Supplementary Tables B2]

Over the longer term (from 2009-10), the number of individuals experiencing imprisonment aged under 30 has fallen consistently, from 10,799 in 2009-10 to 3,733 – a reduction of 65%. The rate of reduction has fallen in recent years, and between 2023-24 and 2024-25 the number of individuals experiencing imprisonment aged 18-20 and 21-22 have increased for the first time, albeit by very small amounts (by 7 to 436 and by 2 to 491 respectively).

The number of individuals aged 30-49 fell sharply in 2020-21 to a low of 8,006. This group increased substantially after the pandemic, reaching 9,553 in 2024-25. The number of individuals aged 40-44 increased by 35% from a low of 1,716 in 2020-21 to 2,319 in 2024-25.

The number of individuals aged 50+ has increased over time. In 2024-25, 2,505 individuals aged 50+ spent time in prison custody.

Figure 4: Individuals under 30 fell while those aged 50+ increased

Number of individuals experiencing imprisonment by broad age band, 2009-10 to 2024-25

The previously reported trend[ix] of an aging group of people experiencing imprisonment continued in 2024-25. The average age of individuals spending any time in prison in 2013-14 was 33.4 years; by 2024-25 this had risen to 38.2. The proportion of individuals experiencing imprisonment that were aged 50 years or older has more than doubled in the past fifteen years, rising from 6.3% in 2009-10 to 15.9% in 2024-25.

Gender

[Supplementary Tables B2]

In 2024-25, women made up 6.4% of individuals experiencing imprisonment.

The number of both men and women experiencing imprisonment increased in 2024-25. In 2024-25, 14,786 men (+441 from 2023-24, +3%) and 1,005 women (+4 from 2023-24, +0.4%) experienced imprisonment.

While this is an increase on the previous reporting year, the number of individuals of either gender spending time in prison remains lower than pre-pandemic: down 1,255 (-8%) for men and 261 (-21%) for women.

Ethnicity

[Supplementary Tables B3]

The majority of individuals experiencing imprisonment in 2024-25 self-identified as “White” (92%)[x].

Reflecting the overall pattern of individuals experiencing imprisonment, there were small increases in the number of individuals experiencing imprisonment across ethnic groups between 2023-24 and 2024-25: “White” (+252 to 14,534); “Asian” (+102 to 458); “African, Caribbean or Black” (+49 to 353); “Mixed or Multiple” (+9 to 99) ; “Other ethnic group” (+33 to 346). Overall there was a small decrease in the proportion of individuals identified as “White” from 93% to 92%, while the proportion identified as “Asian” increased from 2% to 3% between 2023-24 and 2024-25.

The release of census data from March 2022 provides a common population base to compare imprisonment rates over the past three years[xi]. Within 2024-25, the imprisonment rate in the “White” ethnicity group was 3.42 per 1000 population and for the “Asian” group it was 2.6.

We see higher rates than the “White” majority in the groups “African Caribbean or Black” (4.36 per 1,000), “Mixed or Multiple” (5.21 per 1,000) and “Other ethnic group” (13.31 per 1,000). These levels do not show a statistically significant difference from the previous year.

Ethnic groupings have been aggregated in this report, which is likely to mask variations within each group. Further disaggregation and analysis of the age distribution of these groups is required to understand the dynamic underlying these changes.

Nationality

[Supplementary table B8]

The nationality of individuals experiencing imprisonment has been included in the annual statistical release since 2023-24 following feedback from our stakeholders[xii].

British nationals comprise more than 90% of individuals experiencing imprisonment in 2024-25. However the proportion of individuals who are not British nationals has increased from 5% in 2017-18 to 9% in 2024-25.

Figure 5: The proportion of individuals spending any time in custody who were British nationals has fallen since 2017-18

Proportion of individuals of British nationality, 2009-10 through 2024-25

Over the period 2010-11 to 2024-25, individuals from the European Economic Area (EEA) comprise the largest non-British national group experiencing imprisonment (627 in 2024-25). The group grew 3% from 606 in 2023-24.

The second largest group in 2024-25 was people from Asian countries, which increased 57% from the previous year to 272 (+99) overtaking non-EEA europeans (258, increased 17% from 220 in 2023-24). Individuals from African countries increased by 30% from 137 in 2023-24 to 178 in 2024-25, remaining the fourth largest group.

Of people from the EEA, 36% were Polish and 21% Romanian. For people from Asian countries, most were from Vietnam (49%) and China (14%). Of non-EEA Europeans, 94% were from Albania.

Figure 6: Individuals from the European Economic Area make up the largest non-British national group spending any time in custody since 2010-11.

Number of individuals of non-British nationality by region, 2009-10 through 2024-25

Other individual level characteristics

Statistics on other available protected characteristics (disability, sexual orientation, and marital status) and armed forces history are provided in the Supplementary tables B4-B8 accompanying this publication.