Georgia has one of the highest probation population rates in Europe, ranking third after Poland and Türkiye, a Council of Europe report published on July 9 found.
The Council of Europe’s 2025 Annual Penal Statistics on Persons under the Supervision of Probation Agencies (SPACE II survey) shows that Georgia had 468 probationers per 100,000 inhabitants in January 2025 among countries counting individuals under probation supervision. Poland recorded the highest rate with 652 probationers per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Türkiye with 495.
When counting probation measures rather than individuals, Georgia ranked third again with 518 probationers per 100,000 inhabitants, behind Poland (726) and Belgium (628).
The survey found that the overall use of community sanctions and measures as alternatives to imprisonment continued to grow across Europe, although at a moderate pace. Between January 2024 and January 2025, the total number of probationers increased by 2.7% in 32 probation services that provided comparable data.
At the same time, Georgia was among the countries where the number of people under probation supervision decreased significantly. The report recorded a 22% decline in Georgia’s probation population between January 2024 and January 2025.
The Council of Europe said alternatives to imprisonment, including electronic monitoring, community service, home arrest, treatment programmes, semi-liberty, and conditional release, can help reintegrate offenders into society and improve the functioning of prison systems.
The report also noted that Georgia was among the countries where the probation population rate exceeded the prison population rate, alongside 27 other jurisdictions covered by the survey.
The SPACE II survey, conducted annually by the University of Lausanne for the Council of Europe, provides data on community sanctions and measures across 48 probation services in 46 Council of Europe member states.
