Our graph shows how many prison escapes there were in 2022 in relation to the inmates. The first thought is that French nuclear power plants are hopefully safer than the correctional facilities. The second thought is: Why? Is the French prison staff reluctant to be disturbed during meals? However, EU corrections do not consist only of French deficits; we have found numerous other interesting data.

The Incarceration Rate – How Many Prisoners in Relation to Population Size?

The question of how the number of inmates relates to population size is intriguing. The result is (not) surprising. In the Turkish rule of law, 348,265 people were actually living their lives in detention on January 31, 2023. With a population of 85,279,553 on the reference date, this amounts to 0.41 percent. For comparison, we look at Liechtenstein, which had six incarcerated citizens out of 36,679 inhabitants, 0.0151 percent. A look at the German figures is a must in this context. The rate was 0.0689 percent. Thus, Germany slightly exceeded half of the EU average of 0.1238 but was significantly closer to the median of 0.1065. For explanation, the mean is the average of all data, while the median is the middle value of a data series. In the number sequence 1,2,6,7,10, six is the median, while the mean is 5.2.

Regional Differences in Incarceration Rate

Unfortunately, an East-West difference can be observed regarding the incarceration rate. While Central and Western EU countries push the numbers down, we encounter countries from the Balkans and Eastern Europe more frequently in the upper range. Who follows Turkey?

Source: University of Lausanne, European Council

We can assume that among the top four – Turkey to Moldova – there is also a correspondingly high number of inmates with political grounds for detention. This is a presumption that, as is known, cannot be substantiated by data.

Incidentally, Turkey also ranks first in homicides and attempted homicides – 37,837 times this was the reason for incarceration. England and Wales follow in second place, quite surprisingly, with 7,563 inmates, followed by Italy with 6,890 convictions.

The Escape Rate – How Promising Are the Prospects

French inmates may be particularly motivated by Henri Charrière’s prison novel “Papillon,” written in 1968/69 and filmed with Steve McQueen in 1973. That Austria already follows in second place is somewhat surprising. Although the escape rate is only one-fifth of that in France, it is still remarkably high. For France and Austria, the question arises: how do they do it? The fact that in Germany only 2.1 out of 10,000 inmates manage to escape is directly reassuring. However, the number of escape attempts is unknown.

What Will EU Corrections Bring in the Future?

Even before incarceration, in law enforcement and proceedings, there are presumably significant differences in the EU. Authoritarian-inclined governments and presidents tend to be more rigorous in law enforcement as well. Different criminal offenses apply in the Eurasian part compared to Germany or the Netherlands, for example. There is little data on the number of politically motivated convictions, especially from these regions. Turkey is already much more open with the word “terrorism.” The differences will likely grow even larger depending on political developments towards national-conservative governments.