Overview
- Argentina closed 2024 with 121,443 people behind bars, equal to 258 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest rate on record.
- The national system is operating at 130.2% of capacity despite new prison places added in 2024, which largely absorbed transfers from police stations rather than easing pressure.
- Córdoba posts the highest incarceration rate at roughly 377 per 100,000, followed by Mendoza (308), Buenos Aires province (305), Santa Fe (286) and Salta (267).
- Prisoner counts rose 7.1% in 2024 and have grown about 6% annually over 25 years, with steep 2015–2024 surges in Santa Fe (+244.8%), Santiago del Estero (+138.2%) and Córdoba (+116.6%).
- Nationwide, 62.0% of detainees are convicted and 37.3% await a final sentence, with sharp contrasts such as Neuquén reporting 99.6% convicted versus higher pretrial shares in Formosa, Córdoba, Buenos Aires and Misiones.