Eurostat: Cyprus prisons most overcrowded in EU at 227.6%, amid safety and staffing warnings
Cyprus has the most overcrowded prisons in the European Union, with an average occupancy rate of 227.6%, according to data published Thursday by Eurostat. The figure far outstrips the second-highest rate recorded in Slovenia at 134.2%, with France third at 129.3%.
An occupancy rate above 100% means prisons are holding more inmates than they were designed to accommodate. Cyprus’ rate—more than double capacity—contrasts sharply with the lowest levels in the bloc: Estonia at 49.9%, and Lithuania and Luxembourg at 67% and 67.4% respectively.
The release comes after Justice Minister Costas Fitiris said last month that the central prison and other holding facilities on the island are full and that the government is “trying to find solutions.” Among the options is a planned new prison near the Nicosia district village of Mathiatis, though Fitiris said in March it may take four or more years to build.
However, the village’s mukhtar, Theodoros Tsatsos, said he has not agreed to the plans and that they can only proceed with the village’s consent. He argued there is no space left in the village, which already hosts two army camps, archaeological sites, churches, and farms.
Earlier, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture warned of “serious problems” at the existing central prison in Nicosia and expressed “grave concerns” over “the high levels of inter-prisoner violence.” The committee cited a “chronic shortage of frontline officers” and said this had “allowed stronger prisoner groups to dominate and impose informal punishments, undermining safety and order.” It described living conditions as “very poor” and “affected by severe overcrowding,” noting that “up to four prisoners” share cells of less than six square metres, with “two persons” forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor in spaces “scarcely sufficient for one person.” The committee added that access to toilets is “inadequate” and that more than half of the prison’s blocks lack in-cell sanitary facilities.
The report also highlighted conditions for children and young adults in custody, calling them “unsuitable and unhygienic.” It said some minors had slept on mattresses on the floor in mouldy, graffiti-covered cells and lacked access to education or purposeful activities, with many reporting being cold, hungry, and bored.
Beyond the central prison, the committee said people “continue to be detained in police custody for prolonged periods, in many cases for months, in conditions which were usually appropriate only for a few days.” While most detainees reported being treated correctly by police, the committee said it had received a few allegations of physical ill-treatment and verbal abuse and urged authorities to reinforce a zero-tolerance policy toward any such practices.
The committee noted that the situation at the Pournara migrant reception centre “had vastly improved” since its 2023 visit. The Eurostat figures and recent findings underscore the scale of the challenge authorities say they are trying to address as they explore options to relieve pressure on Cyprus’ detention system.