Andorra's Prison Costs €193 Daily Per Inmate, Above European Average

Andorra's Comella penitentiary centre cost €193 per inmate per day in 2024, exceeding the European average of €149.70, according to the Council of Europe's SPACE I 2025 report based on data from 31 January 2025.

The facility housed 72 inmates on that date, up from 61 a year earlier, equating to an incarceration rate of 86.8 per 100,000 inhabitants—over 25% below the continental average. Comella ran at 46.8% capacity, second-lowest in Europe after Monaco at 38%, against an 88.7% regional mean. Spain sat at 77.2% occupancy, France at 131%.

Of the inmates, 32—or 44.4%—were in pre-trial detention, well above Europe's 30.3% average, with the remaining 40 serving sentences. The group comprised 63 men and 9 women, about 70% foreign nationals, contrasting European norms where citizens typically form the majority. Andorra also recorded Europe's lowest staff-to-inmate ratio at 1.2 officers per prisoner, tied with Iceland.

Authorities spent €5,226,937 on penitentiary operations in 2024, covering 27,098 inmate-days for the €193 daily rate—a €3.51 decrease from €196.51 in 2023. This total breaks down to €2.1 million for pre-trial detainees and €3.1 million for those with firm sentences, with the full population costing €13,896 daily.

Among sentenced inmates, drug offences topped the list with 10 cases, followed by homicides, assaults and injuries, and rapes at four each. Robberies and economic crimes had three cases apiece, thefts and traffic offences two each, other sexual offences one, and miscellaneous seven.

Andorra's outlay remains below leaders like San Marino (€701), Luxembourg (€590), Norway (€504), Sweden (€328), and Denmark (€227). Neighbours Catalonia (€152), France (€129), and Spain (€128) fell near or under the average, while Azerbaijan (€12) and Ukraine (€13) were lowest.

The report, covering 46 Council of Europe states, underscores stark variations in costs, occupancy, pre-trial shares, foreign inmate proportions, and staffing across the continent.