News Center- Amnesty International has released its annual report on the global use of the death penalty Wednesday.

Highest figure recorded since 2015

A total of 1,153 people are known to have been put to death across 16 countries, more than 30% from 2022, Amnesty International says in its annual report. The total was the highest annual figure recorded by Amnesty since 2015, when 1,634 people were known to have been executed.

Iran carried out 74% of all recorded executions

The five countries with the highest number of executions in 2023 were China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and the USA, according to the report. Iran alone carried out 74% of all recorded executions while Saudi Arabia accounted for 15%.The USA also carried out an increased number of executions in 2023, according to the report.

The group says that Iran executed at least 853 people in 2023. More than half of 2023's executions were for drug-related offences.

172 people executed in Saudi Arabia

According to the report, 172 people, including six women, were executed in Saudi Arabia in 2023. 

“Recorded executions in sub-Saharan Africa more than tripled from 11 in 2022 to 38 in 2023, although all of them were recorded in one single country – Somalia. Despite a reduction in executing countries – from two in 2022 to one in 2023 – the 38 executions recorded was the highest total recorded in the region since 2015, while recorded death sentences increased sharply by 66%, from 298 in 2022 to 494 in 2023,” said Tigere Chagutah Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

The figures in the report exclude China. “Due to state secrecy, Amnesty’s numbers do not include the thousands of people believed to have been executed in China, which remains the world’s lead executioner,” the group says.

144 countries have abolished the death penalty

As of today, 112 countries are fully abolitionist and 144 in total have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, the report says. In 2023, no executions were recorded in Belarus, Japan, Myanmar and South Sudan, all of which carried out executions in 2022.

“The death penalty will again come under scrutiny at this year’s UN General Assembly. Amnesty International urges all governments to rally behind the UN’s call to end the use of the death penalty in a vital show of commitment to human rights,” said Tigere Chagutah.