Prison population exceeds 34 cities
On 7 April, the number of prisoners and convicts in the country's prisons was 403,060. In 50 days, this number increased by 13,867 to reach 416,927 as of 2 June. The prison population has exceeded the population of 34 cities in Turkey.
Hundreds of citizens who took to the streets in response to the operations carried out on 19 March against CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality were arrested. Following the arrests, attention turned to the capacity issues in Turkish prisons. In Turkey, the prison capacity of 295,000 has been exceeded by more than 100,000.
Statistics from the General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Centres revealed the validity of the claim that there is ‘no room to sleep’ in prisons. Data obtained by BirGün on 2 June showed that the prison capacity exceeded 121,927.
STRIKING INCREASE IN POPULATION
In Turkey, the number of detainees and convicts in prisons, which was 403,060 on 7 April 2025, increased by 13,867 in 50 days. According to data from the General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Centres, as of 2 June 2025, the total population in prisons was 416,927. It was stated that 359,227 of the prison population were convicts and 57,700 were detainees. It was noted that the number of people in prisons exceeded the population of 34 cities in Turkey.
WOMEN AND CHILDREN
The extent of the problem of children being drawn into crime, which is a sore point in Turkey, was also reflected in prison statistics. As of 2 June 2025, it was learned that 4,293 of the 416,927 prison population 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, as of 2 June 2025, the number of women in prisons was reported to be 18,727.
THE BILL IS ALSO PAID BY 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 between 2020 and 2025. The investment budget allocated to the Ministry of Justice for prison construction is as follows by year: • 2020: 1 billion 335 million TL
• 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 text has been translated from the original Turkish version titled Cezaevi nüfusu 34 kenti geçti, published in BirGün newspaper on June 12, 2025.
