The Thailand annual prison report 2026, produced by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) in cooperation with the Union for Civil Liberty (UCL) and Freedom Bridge, found that prison conditions remained poor and well below international standards in 2025.
Bangkok, Paris, 24 March 2026. The 69-page report, based on interviews with inmates and former inmates, revealed that key standards related to detention conditions were implemented inconsistently across prisons, with significant discrepancies reported between best and worst practices.
“Thai authorities should lift conditions in all prisons to the level of the best practices observed in certain facilities - even if these best practices remain below minimum international standards. Such a strategy of seeking the best practices and implementing them in all prisons would mark an important step towards improving Thailand’s prison conditions,” said FIDH Vice-President Teppei Ono.
Overall, in 2025, key indicators related to the situation of Thailand’s prisons trended in the wrong direction. The country’s total prison population and the number of inmates under death sentence increased for the second and third consecutive year (+15% and +132%, respectively). The number of prisons operating above their intended capacity increased by 18% from 2024.
In addition, the number of inmates incarcerated for drug-related offenses went up after a three-year decline and the number of convictions for drug-related offenses increased for the first time since 2021. The number of inmates incarcerated for drug-related offenses continued to account for the vast majority (70%) of the total prison population.
Chronic prison overcrowding was exacerbated by another year of inaction by the authorities in the implementation of alternative measures to incarceration for both pre-trial and convicted inmates.
Serious challenges and related human rights violations were reported by inmates and former inmates with regard to: living space; forms of punishment and procedures, which, in some cases, could amount to torture; inadequate provision of water and basic hygiene products; underpaid work that provided limited benefits for employment after release; quantity, quality, and nutritional value of food; physical and mental healthcare services; access to news and external information; recreational and rehabilitative activities; and complaint mechanisms.
The few positive developments were in relation to healthcare. For example, gender-affirming hormone therapy was available for transgender women in one of the correctional facilities.
Now in its fifth edition, the annual prison report is the only independent and comprehensive review of prison conditions in Thailand. It seeks to provide an independent assessment of conditions in Thai prisons, analyze significant stats, figures, and trends related to the Thai prison system, and present relevant key developments. The report also makes numerous practical recommendations for the improvement of prison conditions.
