Poland

Capital city — Warsaw

Country population
37,950,802
i
2020
/ World Bank
Incarceration rate (per 100,000 inhabit…
193
i
02/2022
/ World Prison Brief, ICPR
Type of government
Semi-presidential republic
Human Development Index
0.88
(35/188)
i
2019
/ UNDP, Human Development Report
Homicide rate (per 100,000 inhabitants)
0.7
i
2018
/ UNDP, Human Development Report
Name of authority in charge of the pris…
Ministry of Justice
The prison admini…
i
(Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwosci)
Total number of prisoners
72,853
i
02/2022
/ World Prison Brief, ICPR
Average length of imprisonment (in mont…
6.2
i
01/01/2021
/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Report 2021, p. 124.
Prison density
87 %
i
02/2022
/ World Prison Brief, ICPR
Total number of prison facilities
120
i
2019
/ Prison Service
An NPM has been established
yes, in 2008
Female prisoners
4.7 %
i
02/2022
/ World Prison Brief, ICPR
Incarcerated minors
1.6 %
i
2019
/ World Prison Brief, ICPR
Percentage of untried prisoners
11.8 %
i
02/2022
/ World Prison Brief, ICPR
Death penalty is abolished
yes, since 1997
The last executio…

British Embassy in Warsaw, “Information pack for British Nationals Imprisoned in Poland”, 2015.
Commissioner for Human Rights, “2015 Annual NPM Report”, 2016.
Commissioner for Human Rights, “2016 Annual NPM Report”, 2017.
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, “Report to the Polish Government on the visit to Poland from 11 to 22 May 2017”, 2018.
European Prison Observatory, “Prison conditions in Poland“, 2013.
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, “Improving Prison Conditions by Strengthening the Monitoring of HIV, HCV, TB and Harm Reduction“, 2015.
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, “Access to a lawyer”, 2017 (in Polish).
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, “Report on the Human Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty”, 2017.
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, “The Practice of Pre-trial Detention in Poland – Research Report“, 2015.
Central Board of the Prison Service, “Guide for Foreign Inmates”, 2017.
SPACE, “SPACE I 2016, Facts and Numbers”, 2018.
United Nations General Assembly, “Summary prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in accordance with paragraph 5 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 16/21 : Poland”, 2017.