Which countries in the world have the death penalty

In Japan, a person has also been executed by hanging. The reason was that he committed arson that resulted in the deaths of 36 people.

Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, in the case related to human rights violations during the July mass uprising, Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death yesterday, Monday, by the International Crimes Tribunal. Former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan was also sentenced to death in the case. In addition, former Police Inspector General Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was sentenced to five years in prison by the court.
 

The number of death sentences is increasing worldwide, even though many countries have abolished it completely or partially. Against this backdrop, let’s take a look at which countries still have provisions for the death penalty for various crimes and which countries have abolished it.
 

Number of countries with death penalty provisions

According to the BBC, based on the latest data from the London-based human rights organization Amnesty International, in 2022, nine countries retained the death penalty only for the “most serious” crimes (such as multiple murders, war crimes). Twenty-three countries retain the death penalty in law but have not executed anyone in the last ten years.

The ‘World Population Review’ in a 2025 report provided a list of 55 countries and territories where the death penalty is legal. These countries include India, China, the United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Japan, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Vietnam, Iran, Thailand, Myanmar, Sudan, Uganda, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Syria, Taiwan.
 

According to Amnesty International, China is the world’s largest executor of the death penalty. Thousands of people are sentenced to death annually in the country. However, since China does not publish related information, the exact number is unknown.

Other countries include Somalia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Belarus, Libya, Singapore, Lebanon, Palestine, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Jamaica, Gambia, Botswana, Lesotho, Bahrain, Trinidad and Tobago, Comoros, Guyana, Belize, Bahamas, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
 

How many people are sentenced to death annually

Amnesty International has compiled figures based on government statistics, media reports, and information from families and representatives of those sentenced to death.

According to the organization, China is the world’s largest executor of the death penalty. Thousands of people are sentenced to death annually in China, though exact numbers are unknown.

Excluding China, 883 executions were carried out worldwide in 2022. This was the highest number since 2017. However, compared to 1988, 1989, or 2015, this number is much lower, as over 1,500 people were executed annually in those years.

According to Amnesty, at least 2,016 people were sentenced to death in 2022 across 52 countries. That year, 28,282 people worldwide were on death row.

Many prisoners wait for years, sometimes decades, on death row before the sentence is carried out.
 

Countries with the most executions

In 2022, 20 countries carried out executions for various crimes. In 2021, this number was 18. Excluding China, the highest number of executions were in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United States.

According to Amnesty International, in 2022, Iran carried out at least three public executions. In addition, five people were sentenced to death who had committed crimes while under 18 years old.
 

Countries that execute regularly

Amnesty’s report notes that 11 countries regularly carry out executions. These include China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Vietnam, and Yemen.

The organization believes North Korea also executes regularly, though this cannot be independently verified.

Saudi Arabia carried out the highest number of executions in the past 30 years in 2022. Meanwhile, Bahrain, Comoros, Laos, Niger, and South Korea executed death sentences in 2022 after not doing so for several years.

Executions in the United States increased compared to 2021, but the number is still far below the peak in 1999.
 

Major crimes behind the death penalty

Among the serious crimes leading to the death penalty, drug-related offenses are prominent. According to Amnesty, in 2022, 325 people were executed for drug-related crimes. Of these, 255 were in Iran, 57 in Saudi Arabia, and 11 in Singapore.

In 2023, Singapore executed a female offender for the first time in nearly 20 years. Saridevi Jaman was convicted in 2018 for heroin trafficking.
 

Countries that abolished the death penalty

In 2022, 112 countries did not carry out any executions. In 1991, this number was 48.

Six countries partially or fully abolished the death penalty in 2022. Kazakhstan, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, and the Central African Republic abolished it completely. Equatorial Guinea and Zambia stated that the death penalty would only apply to the “most serious” crimes.

In April 2023, Malaysia’s parliament voted to remove mandatory death sentences for 11 serious crimes (such as murder and terrorism).

In July 2023, Ghana’s parliament decided to abolish the death penalty.
 

Countries that have abolished the death penalty include (according to World Population Review): Mexico, Philippines, Turkey, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, South Africa, Italy, Colombia, Spain, Argentina, Canada, Angola, Ukraine, Poland, Uzbekistan, Mozambique, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Nepal, Venezuela, Australia, Chad, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Romania, Netherlands, Ecuador, Cambodia, Guinea, Benin, Rwanda, Burundi, Bolivia, Haiti, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, Sweden, Czechia, Portugal, Azerbaijan, Greece, Togo, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Sierra Leone, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Bulgaria, Serbia, Republic of Congo, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Central African Republic, Slovakia, Ireland, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Panama, Croatia, Georgia, Mongolia, Uruguay, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Namibia, Moldova, Armenia, Lithuania, Albania, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Slovenia, Latvia, North Macedonia, Timor-Leste.

Other countries include Cyprus, Estonia, Mauritius, Djibouti, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Bhutan, Luxembourg, Suriname, Montenegro, Malta, Cape Verde, Iceland, Vanuatu, São Tomé and Príncipe, Samoa, Kiribati, Seychelles, Micronesia, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Marshall Islands, San Marino, Palau, Cook Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu, Niue, and Vatican City.
 

How executions are carried out worldwide

In 2022, Saudi Arabia was the only country that officially listed beheading as the method of execution. Other methods used include hanging, lethal injection, and shooting.

Last year, in Alabama, USA, the death sentence of a murderer named Kenneth Smith was carried out using nitrogen gas. According to the state’s Death Penalty Information Center, this was the first instance of execution using this method in the world.

Smith’s lawyers called this untested method “cruel and unusual.”
 

Alabama and two other U.S. states have authorized the use of nitrogen gas for executions. Shortages of execution drugs are one of the main reasons for the reduced execution rate in the United States.