diff --git a/docs/changelog/+system-include-fallback.bugfix.rst b/docs/changelog/+system-include-fallback.bugfix.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..61d5563
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/changelog/+system-include-fallback.bugfix.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Stop ``PythonInfo.system_include`` reporting the interpreter's prefix as the include directory when the C headers are
+not installed, which happened on Python 3.11 and later and on Debian's 3.10; the missing sysconfig include path is
+returned instead.
diff --git a/src/python_discovery/_py_info.py b/src/python_discovery/_py_info.py
index 476d53f..64acb8f 100644
--- a/src/python_discovery/_py_info.py
+++ b/src/python_discovery/_py_info.py
@@ -153,8 +153,9 @@ def system_include(self) -> str:
                 for k, v in self.sysconfig_vars.items()
             },
         )
-        if not os.path.exists(path):  # pragma: no cover # broken packaging fallback
-            fallback = os.path.join(self.prefix, os.path.dirname(self.install_path("headers")))
+        # An empty headers path would make the fallback resolve to the existing prefix.
+        if not os.path.exists(path) and (headers := os.path.dirname(self.install_path("headers"))):
+            fallback = os.path.join(self.prefix, headers)
             if os.path.exists(fallback):
                 path = fallback
         return path
diff --git a/tests/test_py_info_extra.py b/tests/test_py_info_extra.py
index b421a05..84d75af 100644
--- a/tests/test_py_info_extra.py
+++ b/tests/test_py_info_extra.py
@@ -276,11 +276,26 @@ def test_system_include() -> None:
     assert isinstance(result, str)
 
 
-def test_system_include_fallback(mocker: MockerFixture) -> None:
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("distutils_install", "existing", "expected"),
+    [
+        pytest.param({}, [], "include", id="no-headers-path"),
+        pytest.param({"headers": "headers/UNKNOWN"}, ["headers"], "headers", id="headers"),
+        pytest.param({"headers": "headers/UNKNOWN"}, [], "include", id="headers-missing"),
+        pytest.param({"headers": "headers/UNKNOWN"}, ["include", "headers"], "include", id="include-present"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_system_include_fallback(
+    tmp_path: Path, distutils_install: dict[str, str], existing: list[str], expected: str
+) -> None:
     info = copy.deepcopy(CURRENT)
-    mocker.patch("os.path.exists", side_effect=lambda p: "include" not in p or "dist" in p.lower())
-    result = info.system_include
-    assert isinstance(result, str)
+    info.prefix, info.base_prefix, info.real_prefix = str(tmp_path), None, None
+    info.sysconfig_vars = {"base": str(tmp_path)}
+    info.sysconfig_paths = {"include": "{base}/include"}
+    info.distutils_install = distutils_install
+    for name in existing:
+        (tmp_path / name).mkdir()
+    assert info.system_include == str(tmp_path / expected)
 
 
 def test_sysconfig_path_missing_key() -> None: