State of the Union / Safety and justice

How is the justice system doing?

The justice system has to deliver judgements and have sentences carried out. Here you can see how many people are in prison and how full the prisons are.

Show the federal governments on the charts

A government is never the only cause of how a figure develops. Many figures only respond to policy years later, and they also depend on the world economy, European rules and the policies of the regions and communities.

Prison occupancy

How full are the prisons?

114.0%

Belgium, 2024

In 2008 it was 116.2%.

Overcrowding means more people per cell, less support and more tension for prisoners and staff. The figure is an average: some prisons are much fuller than others.

Definition and source

Definition: Number of people in prison divided by the official capacity, as a percentage. Above one hundred, there are more people than places.
Calculation: gedetineerden * 100 / capaciteit using gevangenen_aantal, gevangenis_capaciteit
Exact query: crim_pris_cap: open the raw data
Exact query: crim_pris_cap: open the raw data
Copy as CSV: gevangenis_bezetting.csv (handy for reuse; the source itself remains the reference)

Prisoners per inhabitant

How many people are in prison?

106 per 100,000

Belgium, 2024

In 2008 it was 92 per 100,000.

This also includes people in pre-trial detention, who have not yet been convicted.

Definition and source

Definition: Number of people in prison per 100,000 inhabitants.
Dataset: Eurostat · crim_pris_cap
Exact query: open the raw data
Updated by the source: 29 April 2026
Copy as CSV: gevangenen_per_100000.csv (handy for reuse; the source itself remains the reference)