A relevant deputy minister on Thursday announced that out of 13,530 inmates in Greek prisons as of late January 2026, 6,939 foreign prisoners, slightly more than half the total.

The figures were cited by Deputy Minister of Citizens’ Protection, Yiannis Lampropoulos, who replied to a tabled question in Parliament by a deputy of the small far-right opposition party Niki.

The deputy minister said the biggest group among the inmates from a third country are Albanian nationals (1,567), while the offense for which most foreign nationals are serving time relates to migrant smuggling.

Drug offenses, theft and robbery follow as the reason for most convictions of foreign nationals. As of December 2025, a significant number, 244, have been convicted and serve prison time for intentional homicide, and 132 for rape.

In terms of other nationalities, Pakistani inmates follow, at 499; Egyptian nationals, 497; citizens of Sudan, 328 and Afghans, 303.

The deputy minister cited what he called a long-standing collaboration between the ministry’s general secretariat for anti-Crime policy with the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), as well as with international and European organizations, including Eurostat and the Council of Europe.