Prison population exceeded 35 cities
The number of detainees and convicts, which was 403,060 in April 2025, reached 433,543 by December 2025 with an increase of 30,483, surpassing the population of 35 cities.
Statistics from the Ministry of Justice's General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Centres once again highlighted the validity of the criticism that ‘there is no room in prisons’. Data from 1 December 2025 revealed that prison capacity exceeded the population of dozens of cities.
In Turkey, the number of detainees and convicts in prisons, which was 403,060 on 7 April 2025, increased by 30,483 as of 1 December 2025. The total population of detainees and convicts in prisons surpassed the population of 35 cities.
WOMEN AND CHILDREN
It was stated that the total number of detainees and convicts in prisons was 433,543.
The extent of the problem of children driven to crime, which is a sore point for Turkey, was also reflected in prison statistics. It was learned that 4,666 of the 433,543 prison population as of 1 June 2025 were children aged 12-18.
The number of women in prisons was also shared by the General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Centres. According to this, the number of women in prisons was reported to be 20,499.
THE BILL GOES TO THE CITIZENS
According to budget data, a total of 6 billion 851 million 913 thousand TL was allocated to the Ministry of Justice for prison construction investments during the 2020-2025 period. The investment budget for prisons is as follows, by year:
•2021: 1 billion 628 million TL
•2022: 1 billion 325 million 700 thousand TL
•2023: 1 billion 99 million 700 thousand TL
•2024: 250 million 7 thousand TL
•2025: 1 billion 213 million 506 thousand TL
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Cezaevi nüfusu 35 kenti geçti, published in BirGün newspaper on December 19, 2025.
