During 2024 and early 2025, Montenegro became one of the countries with the highest number of prisoners per 100.000 inhabitants in Europe, and the prison population is among the fastest growing on the continent, according to data from the Council of Europe's published SPACE I 2025 research.
According to this data, the country had 1.244 prisoners on January 31st of last year, or 199,6 prisoners per 100.000 inhabitants. This ranked it sixth in Europe, behind Turkey, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Georgia and Hungary.
The European average was around 110 prisoners per 100.000 inhabitants, which means that at that rate the number of prisoners in Montenegro was almost twice the European average.
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There is a huge trend of increasing the number of people behind bars in a year. Compared to January 2024, the prison population in Montenegro increased by 21,7 percent, which was the second largest increase in Europe, right after Turkey. In the long term, compared to 2014, the number of prisoners in Montenegro was higher by approximately 13 percent, but the largest jump was recorded during the last year covered by the research.
Such growth means that Montenegro has become the leader in the region in terms of incarceration rate. Albania had 191,7 prisoners per 100.000 inhabitants, Serbia 174, North Macedonia 146, Croatia 128, Slovenia 85, while the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska were among the European countries with the lowest incarceration rates, with around 48 and 52 prisoners per 100.000 inhabitants, respectively.
The difference was even more pronounced when compared to Western European countries. Iceland had only 36 prisoners per 100.000 inhabitants, Norway 54, the Netherlands 55, Finland 58, and Germany 69. This means that Montenegro had an incarceration rate almost four times higher than Norway and almost three times higher than Germany.
More than half of those imprisoned without trial
The biggest problem with the Montenegrin system, however, was not just the number of prisoners, but the structure of the prison population. As many as 53,4 percent of all people in prisons were in pre-trial detention, i.e. without a final judgment. Only Albania had a higher share of pre-trial detainees, with 62 percent, while the European average was 26 percent.
In other words, for every second person behind bars in Montenegro, the trial has not yet been completed or the verdict has not yet become final.
The most important conclusion that can be drawn from the report is that the potential challenge for the Montenegrin prison system is not primarily a lack of space or staff, but the fact that a large number of people ended up behind bars during 2024 and early 2025, especially in detention, and that the state increasingly resorted to imprisonment as one of the key levers of the justice system.
Of the total of 664 persons who had not served a final sentence, as many as 604 were unconvicted detainees. Another 39 persons had been found guilty but without a final verdict, while the rest were in the appeals phase or had begun serving their sentences before the verdict became final.
Such data indicate that detention was one of the mainstays of the justice system in Montenegro. In practice, this could mean long investigations and court proceedings, but also limited use of alternative measures such as house arrest, bail, or electronic monitoring.
Countries such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Slovakia had much lower shares of detainees, between seven and 13 percent of the total prison population.
Although the number of prisoners was very high, Montenegro was not formally among the most overcrowded prison systems. There were about 85 prisoners per 100 available places, which was below the European median value.
This represented an important paradox of the Montenegrin system: the country did not have extreme overcrowding like Turkey and France, which each had 131 prisoners for 100 places, Croatia with 123, or Italy with 121, but it still had a very high number of people behind bars.
Almost 2.000 people passed through Montenegrin prisons in 2024. A total of 1.983 people were admitted, which is a rate of 318 admissions per 100.000 inhabitants - making Montenegro among the countries with a very intensive "flow" through the prison system.
Of the total number of people admitted, almost 38 percent were persons without a final judgment.
At the same time, 1.890 people were released from prison during the year. Almost half of those released were detainees who had not served a final sentence. This further confirms that detention played a central role in the functioning of the system.
Among convicted prisoners in Montenegro, the highest number were those convicted of drug-related crimes. There were 24,3 percent of such people, which was above the European average. This was followed by theft, murder and attempted murder, robbery, traffic crimes and violence.
Most of those convicted served relatively short sentences. Almost a quarter had sentences of less than a year, while a fifth served sentences of between one and three years.
Four deaths related to the prison system were recorded during the year, including one suicide within prison. There were no prison escapes.
The overall picture shown by the Council of Europe data shows that Montenegro did not have the classic problem of overcrowded prisons like some European countries, but it did have a very high level of incarceration with a strong reliance on detention.
In terms of incarceration rates and the growth rate of the prison population, Montenegro was closer to Turkey, Hungary, and post-Soviet states than to Western European models such as Germany, Norway, or the Netherlands.
In the region, it was significantly more repressive than Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and closer to Albania and Serbia.
The average age of prisoners is 41 years.
Council of Europe data also showed that the Montenegrin prison population was relatively old. The average age of prisoners was 41, while the European average was 39. Only Italy and Portugal had older prison populations.
More than 16 percent of prisoners in Montenegro were over 50 years old, while almost three percent were over 65. Such a trend also means an increase in healthcare costs and requires additional capacity for the treatment and accommodation of older prisoners.
Women made up just 2,8 percent of the prison population, one of the lowest rates in Europe. Only Albania and Armenia had a lower percentage. The European average was almost double that.
Foreign nationals made up 15,8 percent of prisoners in Montenegro, which was close to the European average of 17 percent. This share was significantly lower than in countries such as Luxembourg, Switzerland, Cyprus or Slovenia, where foreigners made up more than half of the prison population.
Daily cost per prisoner 31,5 euros, in Norway 500 euros per day
Montenegro also had a relatively high number of employees compared to the number of prisoners in 2024. There were 473 people working in the prison administration, which meant that there were about 2,6 prisoners for every employee. This ratio was similar to Serbia and more favorable than in parts of the region.
However, compared to Western European countries, the Montenegrin system had significantly fewer resources. The daily cost per prisoner was only 31,5 euros. Norway spent more than 500 euros per prisoner per day, the Netherlands more than 400, and Slovenia around 127 euros.
The total annual costs of the prison system in Montenegro were estimated at just over 12 million euros, with almost half of that related to persons in detention.
This article was created through a comprehensive analysis of data from a Council of Europe survey, with the help of artificial intelligence.
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