Ireland migrant crime and foreign prisoner statistics
How much more likely foreign citizens are to be in prison in Ireland than Irish citizens, year by year, from Eurostat prison and population statistics, and how Ireland ranks against the rest of Europe.
Explore Ireland on the interactive mapForeign prisoners in Ireland: 2008–2024
In 2024, foreign citizens in Ireland were 1.1× as likely to be in prison as Irish citizens and made up 16.5% of prisoners. That ranks Ireland 27 of 31 European countries, against a median of 3.1×.
| Year | Times as likely | Prisoners foreign | Population foreign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.1× | 16.5% | 15.3% |
| 2023 | 1.1× | 15.6% | 14.4% |
| 2022 | 1.2× | 14.9% | 12.8% |
| 2021 | 1.2× | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 2020 | 1.3× | 15.5% | 12.8% |
| 2019 | 1.3× | 15.3% | 12.4% |
| 2018 | 1.1× | 13.1% | 12.0% |
| 2015 | 0.8× | 9.1% | 11.4% |
| 2014 | 1.0× | 11.6% | 11.4% |
| 2013 | 1.0× | 12.1% | 11.7% |
| 2012 | 0.9× | 10.7% | 12.0% |
| 2011 | 0.8× | 10.4% | 12.3% |
| 2010 | 0.8× | 10.7% | 12.5% |
| 2009 | 1.0× | 12.9% | 12.8% |
| 2008 | 1.0× | 12.8% | 12.5% |
Foreign prisoner rates across Europe: where Ireland 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×
Ireland migrant crime: common questions
- How many prisoners in Ireland are foreign citizens?
- In 2024, 16.5% of prisoners in Ireland held a foreign citizenship, while foreign citizens made up 15.3% of the population. That makes a foreign citizen 1.1× as likely to be in prison as a Irish citizen (Eurostat).
- How does Ireland compare with the rest of Europe?
- Ireland ranks 27 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 Ireland publish crime or rape statistics by nationality?
- Ireland 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 Ireland 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.