The prison population is defined as the total number of adult and juvenile prisoners (including pre-trial detainees), including offenders held in Prison Administration facilities, other facilities, institutions for juvenile offenders and for drug addicts and psychiatric or other hospitals. It excludes, however, non-criminal prisoners held for administrative purposes.
In 2009, there were more than 630,000 prisoners in the EU27, which equated to approximately 127 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, according to Eurostat.
The highest rates (more than 200 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants) were found in the Baltic Member States and Poland. At the other end of the range, the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland and Sweden each reported less than 80 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants in 2009; elsewhere this was also the case in Slovenia and Ireland, as well as in Switzerland.
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