Estonia migrant crime and foreign prisoner statistics
How much more likely foreign citizens are to be in prison in Estonia than Estonian citizens, year by year, from Eurostat prison and population statistics, and how Estonia ranks against the rest of Europe.
Explore Estonia on the interactive mapForeign prisoners in Estonia: 2009–2024
In 2024, foreign citizens in Estonia were 2.3× as likely to be in prison as Estonian citizens and made up 33.4% of prisoners. That ranks Estonia 22 of 31 European countries, against a median of 3.1×.
| Year | Times as likely | Prisoners foreign | Population foreign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2.3× | 33.4% | 18.0% |
| 2023 | 2.4× | 33.8% | 17.4% |
| 2022 | 2.7× | 33.1% | 15.3% |
| 2021 | 2.8× | 33.1% | 15.1% |
| 2020 | 2.9× | 33.8% | 15.1% |
| 2019 | 2.9× | 33.7% | 15.1% |
| 2018 | 3.1× | 35.4% | 15.0% |
| 2017 | 3.3× | 36.6% | 14.9% |
| 2016 | 3.3× | 37.0% | 15.0% |
| 2015 | 3.7× | 38.8% | 14.7% |
| 2014 | 3.9× | 40.4% | 14.9% |
| 2012 | 3.3× | 38.0% | 15.7% |
| 2011 | 3.3× | 38.3% | 15.8% |
| 2010 | 3.5× | 39.8% | 15.9% |
| 2009 | 3.4× | 39.4% | 16.1% |
Foreign prisoner rates across Europe: where Estonia ranks
- 1Greece14×
- 2Croatia9.0×
- 3Slovenia8.8×
- 4Switzerland6.8×
- 5Liechtenstein5.8×
- 6Belgium5.1×
- 7Italy4.8×
- 8Austria4.6×
- 9Finland4.3×
- 10Slovakia3.9×
- 11Cyprus3.7×
- 12Luxembourg3.5×
- 13France3.4×
- 14Iceland3.2×
- 15Poland3.2×
- 16Spain3.1×
- 17Sweden3.1×
- 18Norway2.9×
- 19Netherlands2.9×
- 20Malta2.8×
- 21Denmark2.8×
- 22Estonia2.3×
- 23Turkey2.2×
- 24Portugal1.9×
- 25Bulgaria1.7×
- 26Hungary1.6×
- 27Ireland1.1×
- 28Czech Republic0.9×
- 29Lithuania0.8×
- 30Romania0.7×
- 31Latvia0.4×
Estonia migrant crime: common questions
- How many prisoners in Estonia are foreign citizens?
- In 2024, 33.4% of prisoners in Estonia held a foreign citizenship, while foreign citizens made up 18.0% of the population. That makes a foreign citizen 2.3× as likely to be in prison as a Estonian citizen (Eurostat).
- How does Estonia compare with the rest of Europe?
- Estonia ranks 22 of 31 European countries by how much more likely foreign citizens are to be in prison than citizens. The median across those countries in 2024 was 3.1×.
- Does Estonia publish crime or rape statistics by nationality?
- Estonia is not one of the four countries covered here (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany) whose official sources publish rape, sexual offence or violent crime rates by country of birth or migrant background in a form that can be compared per capita. The comparable measure for Estonia is Eurostat prison statistics by citizenship, shown on this page.
- What are the crime statistics for illegal migrants in Europe?
- No European country publishes a reliable per-capita crime rate for illegal migrants alone, because people without legal residence are not counted in the population figures needed to calculate a rate. Most official rates count registered residents by country of birth or citizenship. Germany comes closest: its police statistics (PKS) report an immigrant category (Zuwanderer) that includes asylum seekers, refugees, tolerated persons and people staying without permission. Foreign-citizen prison counts on the map can also include people without legal residence held on remand or awaiting deportation.
- How are foreign prisoner rates calculated?
- For each country, the share of prisoners holding a foreign citizenship is divided by the foreign share of the population, using Eurostat data. The result shows how many times as likely a foreign citizen is to be in prison as a citizen. Prison figures reflect sentencing, remand and deportation practice as well as offending.