Record number of executions under the death penalty worldwide in the last decade
More than 1,500 people were executed, with China and Iran leading the macabre ranking.
BARCELONA2024 was the year in which the most death sentences were carried out in the world since 2015, when there were at least 1,634. In total, according to data published this Wednesday by Amnesty International, 1,518 were recorded last year, which represents an increase of 32% compared to 2023 (1,153 executions).
91% of the executions for which data is recorded took place in just three countries: Iran (972), Saudi Arabia (345) and Iraq (63). AI believes, in fact, that thousands of unreported executions are carried out in China annually, which, if confirmed, would exponentially increase the data and possibly offer an even more brutal landscape. The fifth country in which the most death sentences were carried out was Yemen (38).
It is also not possible to obtain concrete figures for North Korea and Vietnam, where the death penalty is believed to be used extensively. Israel's war on Palestine and the Syrian crisis have also prevented an accurate count in these territories.
Many of the executions were carried out for political reasons, that is, for the repression of dissidents and minorities. They were also carried out in response to drug-related crimes (more than 40%), a practice that violates international law standards. Apart from the seven countries already mentioned, eight others, up to fifteen, also applied the death penalty. This is, however, the lowest number of states that have made people pay with their lives for certain crimes.
The Amnesty International report shows that Under President Donald Trump, the United States has strengthened its pro-capital punishment rhetoric. In fact, executions in the country have been on the rise since the end of the pandemic. Last year, 25 people were executed, one more than the previous year. And in Africa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burkina Faso, steps are being taken to reinstate the death penalty. So far, 113 countries have abolished it from their legislation, and 145 do not apply it in practice.
In total, and not including data from China, Vietnam, and North Korea, 2,087 new death sentences were imposed in 46 countries in 2024. In 2023, at least 2,428 were imposed in 52 countries.
