That figure was 7 percent higher than the average of 61,114 in 1997. The rate of growth in the prison population declined during 1998. At the end of March 1998, growth over the previous 12 months was 10 percent but this fell to 3 percent by the end of the year. Recent growth in the prison population represented a continuation of the rise that started at the beginning of 1993, following a steep fall in 1992. The average remand population for 1998 totaled 12,570, 4 percent more than in 1997. The sentenced population rose by 8 percent between 1997 and 1998, from an average of 48,410 to 52,180. Also between 1997 and 1998, female prisoners increased in number by 16 percent, from an average of 2,680 in 1997 to 3,110 in 1998. Male prisoners increased in number by an average of 6 percent, from 58,440 to 62,190. Between 1997 and 1998, the greatest increases in the number of sentenced prisoners occurred among those sentenced for sex offenses, burglary, and drug offenses. In the 10-year period between 1988 and 1998, longer prison sentences tended to increase. In 1998, there were 126 prisoners for every 100,000 members of the general population in England and Wales. Tables and figures