Nine out of 10 inmates are men

THE number of inmates serving prison sentences in Spain has decreased.

While in 2009 there were 76,079 convicts in Spanish prisons, their number has decreased by 12.24 per cent in five years, currently adding up to 66,765. In fact, there was a 2.67 per cent drop in Spain’s prison population between 2012 and 2013 alone.

The data corresponds to both Spanish and foreign nationals, according to the Ministry of the Interior. However, the number of foreign convicts has registered the sharpest decrease from 27,162 in 2009 to 21,116 in 2014 (-22.2 per cent), while the number of Spanish inmates has merely dropped by 6.6 per cent in the same period from 48,917 to 45,649.

This means that one in every three convicts serving prison sentences in Spain comes from abroad. As many as 5,773 are Moroccan nationals, 2,275 from Romania, 2,257 from Colombia and 1,555 from Ecuador, said the Spanish Government.

Data shows that the average inmate in Spanish prisons is 39 and has been convicted of theft or drug trafficking, though other common crimes include homicide and murder with 3,707 inmates, crimes against sexual freedom with 3,087 convicts and as many as 3,937 for domestic violence.

Data also shows that nine out of every 10 convicts behind bars in Spain are men - 92.4 per cent - and that as many as 494 people are in prison for terrorism (61 women).