Amnesty International’s most recent death penalty report, “The Death Penalty Worldwide: Developments in 2005,” revealed a substantial drop in recorded executions around the world, as well as a growing number of nations that have abandoned the death penalty. According to the report, four nations accounted for 94% of the 2,148 recorded executions carried out around the world in 2005, a total that is significantly less than the 3,797 executions recorded in 2004 (however, in many countries the exact number of executions is unknown):

COUNTRY / NO. OF EXECUTIONS IN 2005:
China 1,770
Iran 94
Saudi Arabia 86
United States 60

Other countries that carried out executions in 2005:
BANGLADESH, BELARUS, INDONESIA, IRAQ, JAPAN, JORDAN. KOREA (North), KUWAIT, LIBYA, MONGOLIA, PAKISTAN, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, SINGAPORE, SOMALIA, TAIWAN, UZBEKISTAN, VIETNAM, YEMEN.

Only 22 countries carried out executions in 2005, down from 25 in 2004. This is the fourth straight year this figure has dropped and it has halved in the last 20 years.

Number of countries that have abandoned the death penalty in law or in practice:
YEAR - NO. OF ABOLITION COUNTRIES
1996 - 101
1997 - 103
1998 - 106
1999 - 109
2000 - 109
2001 - 112
2002 - 112
2003 - 118
2004 - 120
2005 - 123

Read Amnesty International’s report “The Death Penalty Worldwide: Developments in 2005.” See International Death Penalty.