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Use of death penalty worldwide

At one time the death penalty was used in almost every part of the globe; but over the last few decades many countries have abolished it. 84 countries still maintain the death penalty in both law and practice. 74 countries have abolished it completely; 16 retain it, but only for crimes committed in exceptional circumstances (such as crimes committed in time of war). 21 other countries maintain laws permitting the use of the death penalty for ordinary crimes, but have allowed the death penalty to fall into disuse. Finally, it is not unknown for countries to practise the death penalty sporadically or systematically outside their own formal legal frameworks (in the reported words of an old Bolshevik, "Oh, he wasn't executed, we just shot him").

The list is drawn from the Amnesty International website [1] (http://web.amnesty.org/rmp/dplibrary.nsf/ff6dd728f6268d0480256aab003d14a8/daa2b602299dded0802568810050f6b1!OpenDocument).

The following countries retain the death penalty as of 2002.

  1. Afghanistan
  2. Algeria
  3. Antigua and Barbuda
  4. Armenia
  5. Bahamas
  6. Bahrain
  7. Bangladesh
  8. Barbados
  9. Belarus
  10. Belize
  11. Benin
  12. Botswana
  13. Burundi
  14. Cameroon
  15. Chad
  16. China
  17. Comoros
  18. Democratic Republic of the Congo
  19. Cuba
  20. Dominica
  21. Egypt
  22. Equatorial Guinea
  23. Eritrea
  24. Ethiopia
  25. Gabon
  26. Ghana
  27. Guatemala
  28. Guinea
  29. Guyana
  30. India
  31. Indonesia
  32. Iran
  33. Iraq
  34. Jamaica
  35. Japan
  36. Jordan
  37. Kazakstan
  38. Kenya
  39. North Korea
  40. South Korea
  41. Kuwait
  42. Kyrgyzstan
  43. Laos
  44. Lebanon
  45. Lesotho
  46. Liberia
  47. Libya
  48. Malawi
  49. Malaysia
  50. Mauritania
  51. Mongolia
  52. Morocco
  53. Myanmar
  54. Nigeria
  55. Oman
  56. Pakistan
  57. Palestinian Authority
  58. Philippines
  59. Qatar
  60. Rwanda
  61. Saint Kitts and Nevis
  62. Saint Lucia
  63. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  64. Saudi Arabia
  65. Sierra Leone
  66. Singapore
  67. Somalia
  68. Sudan
  69. Swaziland
  70. Syria
  71. Taiwan
  72. Tajikistan
  73. Tanzania
  74. Thailand
  75. Trinidad and Tobago
  76. Tunisia
  77. Uganda
  78. United Arab Emirates
  79. United States
  80. Uzbekistan
  81. Vietnam
  82. Yemen
  83. Zambia
  84. Zimbabwe

The following countries retain the death penalty for common crimes, but they have not executed anyone in 10 years and Amnesty International classifies them as abolitionist in practice.

  1. Bhutan
  2. Brunei Darussalam
  3. Burkina Faso
  4. Central African Republic
  5. Republic of the Congo
  6. The Gambia
  7. Grenada
  8. Madagascar
  9. Maldives
  10. Mali
  11. Montenegro
  12. Nauru
  13. Niger
  14. Papua New Guinea
  15. Russian Federation
  16. Samoa
  17. Senegal
  18. Serbia
  19. Sri Lanka
  20. Suriname
  21. Togo
  22. Tonga

The following countries have abolished death penalty for common crimes, but it remains on the books for some crimes, such as crimes under military law or other special exceptional circumstances.

  1. Albania
  2. Argentina
  3. Bolivia
  4. Bosnia-Herzegovina
  5. Brazil
  6. Chile
  7. Cook Islands
  8. Cyprus
  9. El Salvador
  10. Fiji
  11. Greece
  12. Israel
  13. Latvia
  14. Mexico
  15. Peru
  16. Turkey

The following countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes:

  1. Andorra
  2. Angola
  3. Australia
  4. Austria
  5. Azerbaijan
  6. Belgium
  7. Bulgaria
  8. Cambodia
  9. Canada
  10. Cape Verde
  11. Colombia
  12. Costa Rica
  13. Côte d'Ivoire
  14. Croatia
  15. Czech Republic
  16. Denmark
  17. Djibouti
  18. Dominican Republic
  19. East Timor
  20. Ecuador
  21. Estonia
  22. Finland
  23. France
  24. Georgia
  25. Germany
  26. Guinea-Bissau
  27. Haiti
  28. Honduras
  29. Hungary
  30. Iceland
  31. Ireland
  32. Italy
  33. Kiribati
  34. Liechtenstein
  35. Lithuania
  36. Luxembourg
  37. Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
  38. Malta
  39. Marshall Islands
  40. Mauritius
  41. Micronesia
  42. Moldova
  43. Monaco
  44. Mozambique
  45. Namibia
  46. Nepal
  47. Netherlands
  48. New Zealand
  49. Nicaragua
  50. Norway
  51. Palau
  52. Panama
  53. Paraguay
  54. Poland
  55. Portugal
  56. Romania
  57. San Marino
  58. Sao Tome and Principe
  59. Seychelles
  60. Slovak Republic
  61. Slovenia
  62. Solomon Islands
  63. South Africa
  64. Spain
  65. Sweden
  66. Switzerland
  67. Turkmenistan
  68. Tuvalu
  69. Ukraine
  70. United Kingdom
  71. Uruguay
  72. Vanuatu
  73. Vatican City
  74. Venezuela



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