Swiss open data · Federal Statistical Office
Imprisonment, Penal institutions on reference day
The latest figure is 90 for 2026, down 20% since 2014 (113).
Questions about these data
Which years are indicated in the catalogue or data profile?
Period: 2014–2026. This describes stored catalogue and profile information; it does not guarantee uninterrupted annual observations.
Metadata · Source and scope
The numbers
| Period | Number of penal institutions |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 90 |
| 2025 | 90 |
| 2024 | 88 |
| 2023 | 89 |
| 2022 | 91 |
| 2021 | 92 |
| 2020 | 98 |
| 2019 | 102 |
| 2017 | 106 |
| 2016 | 111 |
| 2015 | 112 |
| 2014 | 113 |
Sorting and filtering apply to displayed rows only.
Download charted observations (CSV). Charted series only. Other source dimensions may exist.
Source file preview
| Imprisonment, Penal institutions on reference day | Unnamed: 1 | Unnamed: 2 | Unnamed: 3 | Unnamed: 4 | Unnamed: 5 | Unnamed: 6 | Unnamed: 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | 2014.0 | 2015.0 | 2016.0 | 2017.0 | 2018 8 | 2019.0 | 2020.0 |
| Number of penal institutions | 113.0 | 112.0 | 111.0 | 106.0 | 104 | 102.0 | 98.0 |
| Permanent resident population 1 | 8183842.0 | 8279748.0 | 8364123.0 | 8448585.0 | 8508904 | 8542323.0 | 8603899.0 |
| Number of detention places | 7216.0 | 7324.0 | 7474.0 | 7489.0 | 7529 | 7394.0 | 7373.0 |
| Detention places in the smallest prison | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Detention places in the largest prison | 387.0 | 387.0 | 390.0 | 398.0 | 398 | 398.0 | 398.0 |
| Average number of detention places per prison | 64.0 | 65.0 | 68.0 | 71.0 | 72 | 72.0 | 75.0 |
| Places of detention per 100,000 inhabitants | 88.0 | 88.0 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 88 | 87.0 | 86.0 |
| Prison population on reference day | 6923.0 | 6884.0 | 6878.0 | 6907.0 | 6972 | 6943.0 | 6897.0 |
| of which male detainees | 6595.0 | 6509.0 | 6495.0 | 6525.0 | … | 6547.0 | 6496.0 |
| in % | 95.3 | 94.6 | 94.4 | 94.5 | … | 94.3 | 94.2 |
| of which female detainees | 328.0 | 375.0 | 383.0 | 382.0 | … | 396.0 | 401.0 |
| in % | 4.7 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 5.5 | … | 5.7 | 5.8 |
| Number of detainees per 100,000 inhabitants | 85.0 | 83.0 | 82.0 | 82.0 | 82 | 81.0 | 80.0 |
| Occupancy rate (in %) | 95.9 | 94.0 | 91.9 | 92.2 | 92.6 | 93.9 | 93.5 |
| FTE posts on reference day, show as work-time percentage 2 | 4102.0 | 4174.0 | 4169.0 | 4380.0 | … | 4433.2 | 4463.5 |
| Of which administration 3 | 380.6 | 403.1 | 404.0 | 410.2 | … | 417.0 | 417.5 |
| Of which security 4 | 2028.0 | 2102.0 | 2101.0 | 2337.0 | … | 2350.8 | 2287.9 |
| Of which healthcare 5 | 275.5 | 266.5 | 266.5 | 331.2 | … | 303.5 | 294.2 |
| Of which social work / education 6 | 544.6 | 618.8 | 615.8 | 606.4 | … | 688.6 | 787.8 |
| External employees 7 | 407.0 | 204.9 | 200.9 | 353.0 | … | 326.3 | 355.1 |
| Number of detainees per post | 1.6877133105802047 | 1.6492573071394345 | 1.6497961141760613 | 1.5769406392694063 | … | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Of which detainees per security | 3.41370808678501 | 3.274976213130352 | 3.273679200380771 | 2.9554985023534446 | … | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Of which detainees per healthcare | 25.12885662431942 | 25.831144465290805 | 25.808630393996246 | 20.85446859903382 | … | 22.9 | 23.4 |
| Of which detainees per social work / education | 12.712082262210796 | 11.124757595345832 | 11.169210782721663 | 11.390171503957784 | … | 10.1 | 8.8 |
| 1 Provisional annual figures: 4.Q.2025 | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| 2 Total number of posts on reference day (31 January). Perso | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| 3 Administrative staff (e.g. secretary, management) | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| 4 Custodial staff dedicated to the custody of inmates (e.g. | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| 5 Medical and paramedical staff (e.g. doctors, nurses, denti | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| 6 Staff responsible for education activities (e.g. social wo | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| 7 Staff not employed by the prison administration, but occas | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| 8 In 2018, only minimal data (mean) are published (change of | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| State of the database: 18.03.2026 | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| Source: FSO - Imprisonment statistics (FHE) | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| © FSO 2026 | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| Information: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Section Crime | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
Sorting and filtering apply to displayed rows only. Source preview: sampled rows, up to eight columns, shortened cell text.