- Country
- Venezuela
- Ministry responsible
- Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Interiores y Justicia
- Prison administration
- Direccion Nacional de los Servicios Penitenciarios
- Telephone
- Fax
- Website
- Head of prison administration
-
(Dra.) Consuelo Cerrada Mendez, Directora Nacional
Prison population data
| Prison population total (including pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners) |
67,200
at March 2022 (Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones; 32,200 in prisons; 35,000 in police detention centres)
|
|---|---|
| Prison population rate (per 100,000 of national population) |
199
based on an estimated national population of 33.84 million at March 2022 (from United Nations figures)
|
| Pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners (percentage of prison population) |
55.0%
(2024 - of those in the prisons)
|
| Female prisoners (percentage of prison population) |
8.9%
(2024 - of those in the prisons)
|
| Juveniles / minors / young prisoners incl. definition (percentage of prison population) |
0.0%
(Juveniles in custody are held not by the prison administration but by INAN, an institute under the responsibility of the Ministry of Health)
|
| Foreign prisoners (percentage of prison population) |
2.0%
(2024 - of those in the prisons)
|
| Number of establishments / institutions |
41
(2023 - number of prisons in operation)
|
| Official capacity of prison system |
15,096
(2024 - capacity of the prisons)
|
| Occupancy level (based on official capacity) |
145.9%
(2024 - occupancy level of the prisons)
|
Prison population trend
| Year | Prison population total | Prison population rate |
|---|---|---|
| 14,196 | 58 | |
| 19,368 | 76 | |
| 19,951 | 76 | |
| 19,257 | 70 | |
| 24,069 | 85 | |
| 40,825 | 140 | |
| 45,224 | 150 | |
| 51,256 | 168 | |
| 54,738 | 173 | |
| 46,915 | 145 | |
| 37,543 | 113 |
Prison population total
Prison population rate
- Pre-trial/remand prison population: trend
- Female prison population: trend
- Prison population trend up to 2000
Pre-trial/remand prison population: trend
The table below gives an indication of the recent trend in the pre-trial/remand prison population. The final row shows the latest figures available.
It consists of the number of pre-trial/remand prisoners in the prison population on a single date in the year (or the annual average) and the percentage of the total prison population that pre-trial/remand prisoners constituted on that day.
The final column shows the pre-trial/remand population rate per 100,000 of the national population.
VENEZUELA
| Year | Number in pre-trial/remand imprisonment | Percentage of total prison population | Pre-trial/remand population rate (per 100,000 of national population) |
| 2000 2005 2010 | 6,338 9,633 28,546 | 44.6% 48.5% 66.0% | 26 36 98 |
| 2024 | 12,110 | 55.0% | 39 |
It should be noted that the number of pre-trial/remand prisoners fluctuates from day to day, month to month and year to year. Consequently the above figures give an indication of the trend but the picture is inevitably incomplete.
The pre-trial/remand population rate is calculated on the basis of the national population total. All national population figures are inevitably estimates but the estimates used in the World Prison Brief are based on official national figures, United Nations figures or figures from other recognised international authorities.
Female prison population: trend
The table below gives an indication of the trend in the female prison population. The final row shows the latest figures available.
It consists of the number of female prisoners in the prison population on a single date in the year (or the annual average) and the percentage of the total prison population that female prisoners constituted on that day.
The final column shows the female prison population rate per 100,000 of the national population.
VENEZUELA
| Year | Number of female prisoners | Percentage of total prison population | Female prison population rate (per 100,000 of national population) |
| 2001 2006 2010 2015 2020 | 936 1,255 2,399 2,761 2,183 | 5.5% 6.5% 6.4% 5.6% 5.8% | 3.7 4.6 8.3 8.8 6.6 |
| 2024 | 1,969 | 8.9% | 6.4 |
The number of female prisoners fluctuates and so the above figures give an indication of the trend but the picture is inevitably incomplete.
The female prison population rate is calculated on the basis of the national population total. All national population figures are inevitably estimates but the estimates used in the World Prison Brief are based on official national figures, United Nations figures or figures from other recognised international authorities.
(If the rate were calculated on the basis of the number of females in the national population it would of course be approximately double the figure in the final column).
Prison population trend up to 2000
The figures below give an indication of the prison population trend in the years up to 2000. They supplement the more recent figures that are shown at the foot of the Overview page and in the graphs below.
VENEZUELA
| Year | Prison population total | Prison population rate (per 100,000 of national population) |
| 1959 1970 1975 1980 1985 1992 1996 2000 | 6,937 14,008 15,751 12,623 27,229 31,400 22,791 14,196 | 95 131 124 84 157 152 101 58 |
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