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South Africa

Capital city — Pretoria

  • Country population

    56,300,000
  • Incarceration rate (per 100,000 inhabit…

    286
    i
    31/03/2017
    / ICPR
  • Type of government

    Parliamentary republic
  • Human Development Index

    0.666
    i
    2016
    / UNDP
  • Name of authority in charge of the pris…

    Ministry of Justice
  • Total number of prisoners

    161,054
    i
    31/03/2017
    / ICPR
  • Prison density

    135 %
    i
    2017
    / Department of Correctional Services
  • Total number of prison facilities

    237
    i
    2017
  • An NPM has been established

    No
  • Number and percentage of female prisone…

    2.6 %
    i
    2017
    / Department of Correctional Services
  • Untried prisoners

    27.2 %
    i
    2017
    / Department of Correctional Services
  • Death penalty is abolished

    yes

    since 1997

+
Country-profileSeen in the pressTestimonialsInterviews
Contributor(s)Derrick Thulani & Sasha Gear (Just Detention International)
  • Introduction
  • Overview
    • Prison population
    • Organisation
    • Prison facilities
  • Safeguards
    • National Preventive Mechanisms and other external control bodies
  • Special populations
    • Women
    • Untried prisoners
    • Death penalty prisoners
  • Physical integrity
    • Death penalty
    • Life imprisonment
    • Deaths in detention
    • Ill-treatment and violence
    • Arbitrary or secret detention
  • Specific population
    • Prison population
    • Women
    • Juveniles
    • Foreigners
    • LGBTI persons
    • Prisoners of conscience
    • The elderly
    • The sick and the disabled
  • The system organisation
  • The penitentiary system
    • Premises
    • Staff
  • Daily life
    • The cells and their equipment
    • Food
    • Hygiene
    • Health
    • Activities
    • Work
    • Schooling and professional training
    • Religion
    • External participants
    • Financial resources and destitution
    • Security and safety
  • Contact with the outside world
    • Family visits
    • Correspondence and phone calls
    • Sentence adjustment policies
    • Access to legal rights
    • National preventive mechanism (NPM)
  • Recommendations
  • For more information
  • Print

Special populations

Number and percentage of female prisoners

2.6 % (4,174)
i
2017
/ Department of Correctional Services
27.2 % (43,799)
i
2017
/ Department of Correctional Services

Death penalty is abolished

yes

since 1997

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