The proportion of inmates without German citizenship has risen again, according to an analysis published by the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” that compiled data from all 16 justice ministries. This data suggests that by 2026, there will be over 27,000 non-German prisoners in German correctional facilities.
Currently, foreign inmates account for 44.8 percent of all incarcerated individuals, including those in pre-trial detention. At the snapshot date of March 2026, a total of 60,408 people were detained across the federal states. In the official statistics, those with German or foreign citizenship (dual citizens) are counted as German.
While the percentage of foreign and stateless prisoners has tended to rise over the years-moving up from slightly more than 30 percent in 2015-there are significant regional differences. In Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and Hesse, the proportion of foreign nationals already exceeds 50 percent. Among the city-states, the majority of non-German inmates are found in Hamburg (57.95 percent) and Berlin (58.9 percent). Conversely, in areas such as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (25.1 percent), Saxony-Anhalt (23.69 percent), and Thuringia (23.24 percent), only one in four prisoners does not hold a German passport.
The Federal Association of Prison Service Staff (BSBD) has issued warnings regarding these demographic shifts, fearing the system is becoming overwhelmed. René Müller, the federal chairman, pointed out that “language barriers are a major problem.” He added that staff find resocialization increasingly difficult and struggle to effectively engage with the detainees. These communication challenges are also observed to be leading to a rise in aggressive potential.
Furthermore, the BSBD chairman warned of increased risks of subculture formation and the radicalization of Muslim men within the prison environment. Müller stressed the urgent need for more personnel to better monitor situations and to separate groups. He concluded by stating that it is unacceptable for some prisoners to be more criminal upon release than when they first entered custody.
