How many people are imprisoned in South Africa?

South Africa's prison population is 168,672 people. This figure aggregates all forms of detention counted by the source: sentenced prisoners, pre-trial detainees, and administrative detentions.

What is the incarceration rate in South Africa?

South Africa's incarceration rate is approximately 267 people per 100,000 population.

How many prisons are there in South Africa?

World Prisons indexes 567 individual facilities in South Africa. Each entry links to a detail page with contact information, capacity, oversight reports, and known conditions.

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Africa · Southern Africa

South Africa

Q: Does South Africa have the death penalty?

South Africa's death-penalty status is: abolitionist. Seeded from Amnesty International 2024 categorisation + Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide.

High confidence

Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 26 Feb 2026

Fresh · 2mo ago

Among the largest prison systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Pollsmoor, Sun City, and Kgosi Mampuru are the largest urban facilities.

Compare South Africa World Prison Brief page

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

Prison population

168,672

Year: 2026

Rate per 100,000

267

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

157.5%

Severely overcrowded

Pre-trial / remand

37.2%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

3.5%

Foreign nationals

14.9%

Figures from official sources · verified 20 May 2026 · methodology

Conditions risk — across 567 facilities

Average of our computed Conditions Risk Score across the country's facilities. Methodology · Browse highest-risk

31/100

national average

1 moderate 566 unknown

abolitionist on capital punishment since 1995. Last known execution: 1989.ICCPR-OP2 (death-penalty abolition protocol): signatory

Seeded from Amnesty International 2024 categorisation + Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide.

Source: Amnesty International + Cornell Death Penalty Worldwide.

How South Africa compares

vs Africa (8) & global averages

Rate per 100,000this: 267 · region: 182 · global: 214

Occupancy ratethis: 158% · region: 161% · global: 125%

Pre-trial sharethis: 37% · region: 34% · global: 32%

The vertical ticks mark the global (grey) and regional (amber) means. Bars are clipped at the high end for readability.

Prison population over time

Annual figures, latest survey year

2000: 171,462-8.7% over 24y2024: 156,600

Source: World Prison Brief / unodc

Reform in South Africa

All reform →

Laws, programmes, and pilots changing how South Africa incarcerates — plus relevant research.

Child Justice Act diversion2010–ongoing
juvenile · active
South Africa's Child Justice Act 2008 (in force 2010) created a comprehensive diversion framework for children in conflict with the law, prioritising restorative justice processes, family group conferences, and community service over detention.

Prisons in South Africa

Browse all 567 →

567 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

"Adress: Kerkstraat 37, Vanrhynsdorp, 8170 Booking Of Visits Bookings Is Made: Visits Should Be Booked 48Hours Before Visiting Date Visiting Times Remand Detainees: Visit Days And Times Tuesday - Thursday And Saturday 09H00 - 15H00 Sentenced Offenders Monday - Wednesday - Sunday And Public Holidays 09H00 - 15H00

South Africa

Type

Remand Detention Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

"Adress: Voorberg Medium A, R44, Porterville, 6810 Booking Of Visits Bookings Is Made: Sentenced Offenders Monday - Thursday 08H00 - 13H00

South Africa

Medium

Type

Medium Security Correctional Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

"Adress: Voorberg Medium B, R44, Porterville, 6810 Booking Of Visits Bookings Is Made Remand Detainees: Monday - Thursday 08H00 - 12H00 Sentenced Offenders Monday - Thursday 08H00 - 13H00

South Africa

Medium

Type

Remand Detention Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

Aliwal North Concentration Camp

South Africa

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Allandale Correctional Centre

South Africa

Type

Correctional Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

Allandale Prison

South Africa

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Atteridgeville Correctional Centre

South Africa

Type

Correctional Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barberton Community Corrections

South Africa

Type

Community Corrections

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barberton concentration camp

South Africa

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barberton Farm Max. Correctional Centre

South Africa

Type

Agricultural Correctional Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barberton Farm Medium A Correctional Centre

South Africa

Medium

Type

Agricultural Correctional Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barberton Farm Medium B Correctional Centre

South Africa

Medium

Type

Agricultural Correctional Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barberton Prison Farm

South Africa

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barberton Town Correctional Centre

South Africa

Type

Correctional Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barberton Town Correctional Services

South Africa

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barkly East Community Corrections

South Africa

Type

Community Corrections

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barkly East Correctional Centre

South Africa

Type

Correctional Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barkly West Community Corrections

South Africa

Type

Community Corrections

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barkly West Correctional Centre

South Africa

Type

Correctional Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

Baviaanspoort Maximum Correctional Centre

South Africa

Maximum

Type

Maximum Security Correctional Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

Baviaanspoort Medium Correctional Centre

South Africa

Medium

Type

Medium Security Correctional Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

Baviaanspoort Prison Farm

South Africa

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Beaufort West Community Corrections

South Africa

Type

Community Corrections

Capacity

—

Held

—

Beaufort West Correctional Centre

South Africa

Type

Correctional Centre

Capacity

—

Held

—

See all 567 prisons in South Africa →

Data completeness

100%

Score based on how many fields are populated. We surface this so you know where the gaps are.

National population: 63,160,0002026
Source-verified: 20 May 2026
Source links: 1 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.

Primary reference
World Prison Brief (ICPS, Birkbeck) — Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research
See /data-sources for our methodology.

ISO 3166-1 alpha-3: ZAF

Cite this page

Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.

APA

World Prisons. (2026). South Africa — prison statistics. Retrieved July 20, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/countries/south-africa

Chicago

"South Africa — prison statistics." World Prisons. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/countries/south-africa.

BibTeX

@misc{worldprisons-south-africa,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {South Africa — prison statistics},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/countries/south-africa},
  urldate = {2026-07-20}
}