Azerbaijan has second-highest prison population rate in Europe, report finds

Azerbaijan continues to have one of the highest incarceration rates in Europe despite official efforts to reform its penal system, according to a Council of Europe report.

The latest SPACE II annual report, published by the Council of Europe (CoE), reveals that Azerbaijan has 271 prisoners per 100,000 people, a rate roughly two and a half times the European median of 110.

Only Türkiye recorded a higher rate, with 458 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants.

Other nations with high incarceration rates include Moldova and Georgia, according to the annual penal statistics compiled by the University of Lausanne.

The report highlights a growing shift across Europe towards community-based alternatives to detention, such as probation and conditional release.

Across the continent, approximately 1.4 million people are currently under probation or subject to alternative measures, compared to 1.1 million individuals held in prisons.

However, the use of these alternatives varies or remains limited in certain jurisdictions.

While Poland has 652 probationers per 100,000 people, Azerbaijan has 136, and Montenegro has just 16.

The high inmate numbers are also putting pressure on Azerbaijani penitentiary facilities.

The report notes that Azerbaijani prisons are running at near-full capacity, with 98 inmates for every 100 available spaces.

In 2017, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree aimed at humanising the country's penal system and expanding alternative sentencing.

The directive sought to limit the use of custodial sentences, develop alternative correctional mechanisms, and modernise the prison infrastructure.

Despite these measures, the latest CoE figures show that Azerbaijan remains one of Europe's most heavily incarcerated societies.