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Article | Cambodia's Capacity Crisis: Overcrowded Prisons and the Need for Reform

18 February 2025

In 2010, LICADHO reported that Cambodia’s prisons were experiencing an unprecedented population boom. The prisons monitored by LICADHO were at 175% capacity, and projections indicated that by 2018, the country could have one of the most overcrowded prison systems in the world.

Fifteen years later, Cambodia’s prisons remain as overcrowded and under-resourced as ever. Data from the World Prison Brief positions Cambodia as having the second highest prison occupancy level in the world as of July 2023. At the end of 2024, 18 of the 19 prisons monitored by LICADHO exceeded their official capacity, with 11 prisons at an occupancy rate of at least 200%. These prisons hold over 45,000 individuals combined: a 23% increase from December 2023. Kandal Prison is currently the most overcrowded facility, holding over 3,900 people in a space designed for only 600, rendering its occupancy rate over 650%.

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