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Capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as a punishment for a crime. It has historically been used in almost every part of the world. Since the mid-19th century many countries have abolished or discontinued the practice.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] In 2022[update], the 5 countries that executed the most people were, in descending order, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United States.[8]
The 193 United Nations member states and 2 observer states fall into 4 categories based on their use of capital punishment. As of 2024[update]:[9]
- 53 (27%) maintain the death penalty in law and practice.
- 23 (11%) permit its use but have abolished it de facto: per Amnesty International standards, they have not used it for at least 10 years and are believed to have a policy or practice of not carrying out executions.[10]
- 10 (5%) have abolished it for all crimes except those committed under exceptional circumstances (such as during war), most recently Ghana (2023).
- 109 (56%) have completely abolished it, most recently the Central African Republic (2022).
Since 1990, at least 11 countries have executed offenders who were minors (under the age of 18 or 21) at the time the crime was committed, which is a breach of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by all countries but the United States. These are China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sudan, the United States, and Yemen.[11][12][13] In the United States, this ended in 2005 with the Supreme Court case Roper v. Simmons, in Nigeria in 2015 by law,[14] and in Saudi Arabia in 2020 by royal decree.[15]
Global overview
Africa
In Africa, many countries maintain the death penalty in law. Some such countries, such as Algeria and Cameroon, have moratoriums and have not used it for over a decade, making them abolitionist in practice. In Nigeria, some states are de facto abolitionist while others are retentionist.
In 2018, Burkina Faso repealed the death penalty for civilian crimes, and the Gambia announced a moratorium as a first step towards abolition.[16] Sierra Leone abolished capital punishment in 2021, as did the Central African Republic in 2022.[17][18][19] For civilian crimes, Equatorial Guinea and Zambia abolished it in 2022, and Ghana did so in 2023.[20]
Americas
In Caribbean countries, the death penalty exists at least de jure, except in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which abolished it in 1969 and 1987, respectively. Grenada is abolitionist in practice; its last execution was in 1978. The last execution in the Caribbean, and the last in the Americas outside the United States, was in Saint Kitts and Nevis, in 2008. In Central and South America, the death penalty exists in Belize and Guyana, though it has not been used since 1985 and 1997. In Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Peru, executions are legal in some circumstances, such as war crimes, and were abolished for civil crimes. In 1976, Canada abolished the death penalty for non-military offences; in 1999, it abolished it for military offences. In 2005, Mexico abolished the death penalty; in 2009 Argentina abolished it.
Asia
China is the world's most active user of the death penalty; according to Amnesty International, China executes more people than the rest of the world combined, each year.[21] In December 2015, Mongolia repealed the death penalty for all crimes,[22] and in June 2022, Kazakhstan abolished it completely.[23]
India rarely executes criminals, carrying out just 30 executions since 1991.[24] India most recently executed 4 perpetrators of a gang rape and murder case in March 2020.[25]
Japan sometimes executes criminals, carrying out 130 executions since 1993. Japan most recently executed Tomohiro Katō in July 2022.[26]
According to a 2017 report by the National Human Rights Commission from Myanmar, over 700 prisoners in 26 prisons across the country had death sentences commuted to life imprisonment.[27]
Singapore resumed executions in March 2022 after a two-year moratorium due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Singapore came under scrutiny for executing drug traffickers in several high-profile cases, including Nagaenthran Dharmalingam who was hanged in April 2022,[28] and Tangaraju Suppiah who was hanged in April 2023.[29] In July 2023, a convicted drug trafficker named Saridewi binte Djamani was executed, becoming the first female offender hanged in Singapore in 19 years, after the 2004 hanging of Yen May Woen.[30] Singapore's first execution for murder since 2019 was carried out in February 2024, when Bangladeshi painter Ahmed Salim was hanged for murdering his ex-girlfriend in 2018.[31]
Europe
The European Union holds a strong position against the death penalty; its abolition is a key objective for the Union's human rights policy. Abolition is also a pre-condition for entry into the European Union. In Europe, only Belarus continues to actively use capital punishment.[32][33][34][35]
Capital punishment has been completely abolished in all European countries except for Belarus and Russia, the latter of which has a moratorium and has not conducted an execution since 1996. The absolute ban on the death penalty is enshrined in both the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (EU) and two widely adopted protocols of the European Convention on Human Rights of the Council of Europe, and is thus considered a central value. Of all present European countries, San Marino, Portugal and the Netherlands were the first to abolish capital punishment; Romania banned it even earlier in 1864, but it was much later reintroduced from 1936 to 1990; in Italy the nationwide ban on the death penalty dates from 1889 (capital punishment had previously not been in force in Tuscany alone since 1859, and even earlier for short periods starting from 1786), but it was then reintroduced during the fascist regime; now only Belarus still uses capital punishment. In 2012, Latvia became the last EU member state to abolish capital punishment in wartime.[36]
Post-Soviet states
 |
Russia retains the death penalty in law, but there has been a moratorium since 1996, making it de facto abolitionist. The last execution on Russian territory was in Chechnya in 1999. Of the other former Soviet republics, only Belarus and Tajikistan have not formally abolished capital punishment, and only Belarus uses it in practice. In 2000, Ukraine abolished the death penalty completely.
Oceania
The Kingdom of Tahiti (when the island was independent) was the first legislative assembly in the world to abolish the death penalty in 1824. Tahiti commuted the death penalty to banishment.[37] Nearly all countries in this region have abolished the death penalty as a form of punishment, and the last country that still has it in law (Tonga) has not used it since 1982 and is considered de facto abolitionist. Australia abolished the death penalty completely in 1985.
Human Development Index
There are 65 sovereign states with a very high human development according to the 2021/2022 Human Development Report.[38] Of these:
- 14 (22%) maintain the death penalty in both law and practice: Singapore, Japan, the United States, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Belarus, Malaysia,[a] and Thailand.
- 3 (5%) permit its use, but have not used it for at least 10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions: South Korea, Brunei, and Russia.
- 2 (3%) have abolished it for all crimes except those committed under exceptional circumstances (such as during war): Israel and Chile.
- 46 (71%) have completely abolished it, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Singapore has the highest Human Development Index of all the countries that use the death penalty, while Japan has both the highest inequality-adjusted HDI and the highest planetary pressures–adjusted HDI.
Developed countries
As of 2022, 36 of the 40 countries and territories that are classified by the IMF as developed countries (advanced economies), including the non-UN-members Hong Kong, Macau[40] have completely abolished the death penalty. Only the United States, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes, and Israel for crimes under exceptional circumstances (such as during war).
Numbers executed in 2022
At least 21 countries performed executions in 2022[update]:[8][41][42]
- Americas (1 country): United States (18)
- Asia (13 countries): Afghanistan (unknown), Bangladesh (4), China (unknown), Iran (596+), Iraq (unknown), Japan (1), Kuwait (7), North Korea (unknown), Saudi Arabia (146), Singapore (11), Syria (unknown), Vietnam (unknown), Yemen (1)
- Africa (3 countries): Egypt (unknown), Somalia (19), South Sudan (2)
Precise numbers are not available for many countries, so the total number of executions is unknown. Other countries, like Burma and Libya, have conducted extrajudicial executions.
Capital punishment by continents
Africa
There are 54 United Nations member states in Africa. Of these:
- 12 (22%) maintain the death penalty in both law and practice.
- 14 (26%) permit its use but have not used it for at least 10 years and are believed to have a policy of not carrying out executions.
- 4 (7%) have abolished it for all crimes except those committed under exceptional circumstances (such as during war).
- 24 (44%) have completely abolished it.
Many African countries have carried out no executions for over 10 years, but are not believed to have an abolitionist policy or established practice.
Nigeria is only retentionist in the northern states that use sharia law, and in some southern states such as Imo. Many southern states are abolitionist in practice due to a moratorium that has been in place since 2004.
The countries in Africa that most recently abolished the death penalty are Ghana (2023), Zambia (2022) and Equatorial Guinea (2022) for ordinary crimes,[clarification needed] Zimbabwe (2024), Central African Republic (2022) and Sierra Leone (2021) for all crimes.
Executions in Africa in 2019: Botswana (1), Egypt (29+), Somalia (13+), South Sudan (7+).[43][44]
| Key | Country | Year of last execution | Executions 2019 | Year abolished | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Algeria
|
1993 | n/a | Firing Squad, shooting. Death penalty for treason; espionage; aggravated murder; castration resulting in death; arson (or destruction using explosive devices) of buildings, vehicles or harvests resulting in death; intentional destruction of military equipment resulting in death; attempts to change the regime or actions aimed at incitement; destruction of territory; sabotage to public and economic utilities; massacres and slaughters; participation in armed bands or in insurrectionary movements; counterfeiting; terrorism; acts of torture or cruelty; kidnapping; aggravated theft; some military offences; poisoning; attempting a death-eligible offense; some cases of recidivism and perjury leading to a death sentence pronounced.[45] Currently under a moratorium. On 20 December 2012, Algeria co-sponsored and voted in favour of the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly.[46] | ||
 Angola
|
1977[47] | 1992 | Abolished in 1992 by Constitution. | ||
 Benin
|
1987 | 2012 | On 6 July 2012, Benin acceded to the Second Additional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which makes Benin abolitionist.[48] The decision was upheld by the Constitutional Court in January 2016 although the death penalty is still present in statutes.[10] | ||
 Botswana
|
2021[49] | 1 | n/a | Hanging, and state also has power to determine method of execution by offense committed. Death penalty for murder; espionage; treason; attempt on the life of the head of state; mutiny; desertion in the face of the enemy, aggravated piracy and terrorism. Persons excused from capital punishment are pregnant women, teenagers who were younger than 18 at time of crime, and the mentally ill.[50] | |
 Burkina Faso
|
1988 | N/A (Military) 2018 (Civilian)[51] |
Death penalty still retained for war crimes. Capital punishment was abolished for other offenses in 2018.[52] | ||
 Burundi
|
2000[53] | 2009[54] | Death penalty abolished in revised 2009 criminal code. Extrajudicial executions are still commonplace.[55] Despite having abolished capital punishment, Burundi voted against the UN Moratorium on the Death Penalty in 2016. | ||
 Cameroon
|
1997[56] | n/a | Hanging, firing squad, shooting. Death penalty for secession; espionage; treason; terrorism; aggravated murder; premeditated murder; violent theft leading to death or causing grievous bodily harm; abduction of a minor resulting in the death of that minor; assault on a state employee with intent to kill; attempt of a death-eligible crime and conspiracy to commit a death-eligible crime; plundering by gangs using force during times of war and incitement to war.[57][58] In February 2014, the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, commuted all persons condemned to the death penalty to life in prison. The decree commuted their sentences to 25 years incarceration.[59] However, death sentences have continued to be handed down as of 2016[update].[60] | ||
 Cape Verde
|
*None since independence in 1975 (1835, before independence) | 1981 | Last execution when a colony of Portugal was 1835. Abolished in 1981 by Constitution. | ||
 Central African Republic
|
1981 | 2022 | The National Assembly passed a bill abolishing capital punishment on 27 May 2022. President Touadéra has vowed to sign it into law.[61] | ||
 Chad
|
2015[62] | 2020 | Capital punishment was abolished in 2014,[63] but then reintroduced the following year for acts of terror.[64] In April 2020, Chad's Parliament unanimously abolished the death penalty for terrorism.[65][66] | ||
 Comoros
|
1997[67] | n/a |
Firing squad. Death penalty for aggravated murder, murder, rape (if it results in the death of the victim), barbaric actions including torture, and aggravated rape.[68] Persons excluded from capital punishment are pregnant women, women with small children, teenagers who were under 18 at the time of the crime, and the mentally ill. | ||
 Congo, Republic of the
|
1982 | 2015[69] | Death penalty abolished November 2015 by Constitution. | ||
 Djibouti
|
*None since independence in 1977 | 1995 | |||
 Congo, Democratic Republic of the
|
2003[70] | n/a | Hanging, shooting. Death penalty for murder, aggravated murder, treason, destruction of military facilities resulting in death, imposing superstitious trials by ordeal resulting in death, terrorism, armed robbery, drug trafficking and drug possession during wartime, espionage, misappropriation by a public prosecutor of seized or confiscated goods in time of war, some military offences, war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.[71] | ||
 Egypt
|
2024[72] | 29+ | n/a | Hanging/firing squad. Death penalty for rape (if the victim is also kidnapped); murder; treason; terrorism; espionage; perjury causing wrongful execution[73] and organized drug trafficking. Those excused from the death penalty are: women with small children, women who are pregnant, teenagers who were under 18 at the time of the crime, and the mentally ill.[74] In Egypt, it is believed that at least 1,700 people were executed under the death penalty, and 1,413 death sentences alone were issued between 2007 and 2014.[74] Since the beginning of 2015, there have been reports of at least 354 death sentences carried out; however, numbers are not totally reliable due to the government's secrecy. | |
 Equatorial Guinea
|
2014[75] | 2022 (civil crimes) | On 19 September 2022, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo signed a new penal code into law that abolished the death penalty for most crimes; however, statutes still permit the death penalty for some military offenses.[76][77] | ||
 Eritrea
|
1989 | n/a | Hanging, shooting. Last execution when part of Ethiopia was 1989. Death penalty for murder, armed robbery, espionage, treason, economic crimes, military offenses, war crimes and genocide. At least one execution may have been carried out between 1999 and 2008, but this remains unconfirmed.[78] | ||
 Eswatini
|
1983[79] | n/a | Death penalty for murder;[80] treason. | ||
 Ethiopia
|
2007[81] | n/a | Firing squad. Death penalty for murder, robbery resulting in death or permanent disability of the victim, armed robbery, terrorism, some economic crimes, espionage, treason, certain military offences, armed conspiracy, war crimes, genocide, attempted capital offenses, certain economic crimes in time of war and outrages against the constitution[82] | ||
 Gabon
|
1985[83] | 2010[84] | Abolished in February 2010. | ||
 Gambia
|
2012[85] | n/a | Hanging, firing squad. Death penalty for treason, murder and terrorism.[86] Capital punishment was abolished in 1993 but was reinstated by Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council in August 1995[87] In February 2018, Gambia announced a moratorium on the death penalty.[88] In September 2018, it ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In May 2019, it commuted 22 death sentences to life imprisonment.[89] | ||
 Ghana
|
1993 | 2023 (most crimes) | Firing squad, hanging. Death penalty for high treason. In 2023, Parliament voted to abolish the death penalty for all other crimes.[90] The repeal of the death penalty is not retroactive; at least one death sentence was handed down after abolition for a crime that occurred before the repeal went into effect.[91] | ||
 Guinea
|
2001[92] | 2017 | Abolished 2016 for ordinary crimes,[clarification needed] 2017 for all crimes.[93] | ||
 Guinea-Bissau
|
1986 | 1993 | Abolished 1993 by Constitution. | ||
 Ivory Coast
|
*None since independence in 1960[87] | 2000 | |||
 Kenya
|
1987 | n/a | Hanging. Death penalty for terrorism; terrorism acts; high treason; murder, armed robbery,[94] treason, military offenses and administering an oath purported to bind a person to commit a capital offense.[95] On 3 August 2009, the death sentences of all 4,000 death row inmates were commuted to life imprisonment, and government studies were ordered to determine if the death penalty has any impact on crime. In 2017 the Supreme Court of Kenya struck down the mandatory death penalty as unconstitutional. | ||
 Lesotho
|
1995[96] | n/a | Hanging. Death penalty for murder, treason, rape, and military offenses such as mutiny.[97] | ||
 Liberia
|
2000[98] | n/a | Hanging. Death penalty for aggravated murder, armed robbery, terrorism, "mercenarism" resulting in death, hijacking, treason and espionage.[99] Liberia acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, abolishing the death penalty, on 16 September 2005; it re-introduced elements of it in July 2008.[100][101] | ||
 Libya
|
2010[102] | n/a | Firing squad, shooting. Libya executed more people (18) in 2010, than any other African state. Current laws allow capital punishment for high treason; attempt to forcibly change the form of government; premeditated murder; aggravated murder; terrorism; drug trafficking; robbery resulting in death; espionage and military offences such as assisting the enemy or undermining the defense or the territorial integrity of the State[103][104] Extrajudicial killings are commonplace in Libya.[105] Amnesty International said that Libyan human rights organizations reported 31 executions from 2018 and 2020, but this is not confirmed.[106] | ||
 Madagascar
|
*None since independence in 1960 (1958, before independence) | 2014 | Abolished 10 December 2014.[107] Earlier, on 24 September 2012, Madagascar had signed the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[108] | ||
 Malawi
|
1992[109] | n/a | Executions by hanging. Death penalty for murder; rape; violent robbery; burglary; treason; housebreaking and military offenses.[110] | ||
 Mali
|
1980 | n/a | Executions by firing squad. Death penalty for aggravated murder; terrorism; violent robbery, armed robbery or gang-robbery; arson; kidnapping; treason; espionage; certain military offenses; crimes against humanity; genocide; assaulting on-duty state employees with the intention of causing death; poisoning or mass poisoning of water supplies; committing torture or barbarous acts in the course of a serious offense and attempting a death-eligible crime.[111] Currently, no individual has been executed since 1980, making Mali a de facto abolitionist country. | ||
 Mauritania
|
1987 | n/a | Death penalty for homosexuality, sodomy,[112] apostasy[113] (no recorded executions), blasphemy,[114] adultery, murder, aggravated murder, terrorism, torture, rape, armed robbery, attempted armed robbery, arson, accomplice to a death-eligible crime, assaulting a judge or public official in the course of his duties resulting in his death, kidnapping resulting in death, abandoning a child or an incapacitated person causing his/her death, espionage, treason, perjury causing wrongful execution, some cases of repeat offences and the voluntary destruction of buildings, bridges, dams or roads causing deaths.[115] | ||
 Mauritius
|
1987 | 1995 | |||
 Morocco
|
1993 | n/a | Death penalty for terrorism,[94] treason, espionage, corruption, perjury causing wrongful execution and aggravated murder.[116] In December 2013, a parliamentary opposition group filed a bill to abolish the death penalty in Morocco. The MP who introduced the bill said he was "optimistic" about the bill passing "in view of the current reform movement in Morocco".[117] | ||
 Mozambique
|
1986 | 1990 | Abolished November 1990 by Constitution. | ||
 Namibia
|
*None since independence in 1990 (1988, before independence) | 1990 | Last execution when occupied by South Africa was in 1988. Abolished March 1990 by Constitution. | ||
 Niger
|
1976 | n/a | Executions by firing squad. Death penalty allowed for aggravated murder; castration resulting in death; kidnapping a minor resulting in death; terrorism; robbery; treason; espionage; genocide; crimes against humanity; attempt or conspiracy to commit genocide, crimes against humanity and certain war crimes; torture; human trafficking; poisoning; harboring criminals; perjury leading to a person being sentenced to death; attempting to commit a death-eligible offense and recidivism in case of most serious offenses.[118] Abolitionist de facto as the last execution took place in 1976. | ||
 Nigeria
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