The line graph shows the changes in the number of inmates in one prison in a certain European nation from 1911 to 2001. Overall, the number of male prisoners adhered to rising trends, while the reverse was true for females, with men in jail outnumbering their female counterparts throughout the period.
The figure for men who were locked up in jail more than doubled during the study period. Starting at just under 20,000 in 1911, the number of male prisoners was unchanged until 1921 before dipping to its lowest point, 10,000 in 1931. This number, however, recovered to its initial figure in 1951, after which it remained somewhat stable over the next two decades. From 1971 onwards, the figure for male inmates rose dramatically, closing the period at a chart high of around 45,000 prisoners in 2001.
The number of female prisoners, on the other hand, bucked the foregoing trend and was considerably smaller than that of males. There were about 3,300 women in prison in 1911, a figure that then declined sharply to a meager 500 in 1941. Over the ensuing two decades, this number climbed to close to 1,300 but fell again to just under 1,000 in 1971. Between 1971 and 2001, there was a noticeable rise in the figure for female inmates, reaching slightly over 1,500 at the end of the period.