International
Countries That Have Abolished the Death Penalty Since 1976
The death penalty has declined dramatically around the world in recent years. Since 1976, more than 85 nations have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, while others have abolished it for ordinary crimes. The table below presents the countries that have abolished the death penalty, in order of the year in which it was abolished.
| YEAR | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| 1976 | PORTUGAL abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1978 | DENMARK abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1979 | LUXEMBOURG, NICARAGUA, and NORWAY abolished the death penalty for all crimes. BRAZIL, FIJI, and PERU abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. |
| 1981 | FRANCE and CAPE VERDE abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1982 | The NETHERLANDS abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1983 | CYPRUS and EL SALVADOR abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. |
| 1984 | ARGENTINA abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. |
| 1985 | AUSTRALIA abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1987 | HAITI, LIECHTENSTEIN, and the GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC [1] abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1989 | CAMBODIA, NEW ZEALAND, ROMANIA, and SLOVENIA [2] abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1990 | ANDORRA, CROATIA [2], the CZECH AND SLOVAK FEDERAL REPUBLIC [3], HUNGARY, IRELAND, MOZAMBIQUE, NAMIBIA, and SAO TOMÉ AND PRíNCIPE abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1992 | ANGOLA, PARAGUAY, and SWITZERLAND abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1993 | GUINEA-BISSAU, HONG KONG,[4] and SEYCHELLES abolished the death penalty for all crimes. GREECE abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. |
| 1994 | ITALY abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1995 | DJIBOUTI, MAURITIUS, MOLDOVA, and SPAIN abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1996 | BELGIUM abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1997 | GEORGIA, NEPAL, POLAND, and SOUTH AFRICA abolished the death penalty for all crimes. BOLIVIA and BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. |
| 1998 | AZERBAIJAN, BULGARIA, CANADA, ESTONIA, LITHUANIA, and the UNITED KINGDOM abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 1999 | EAST TIMOR, TURKMENISTAN, and UKRAINE abolished the death penalty for all crimes. LATVIA [5] abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. |
| 2000 | COTE D’IVOIRE and MALTA abolished the death penalty for all crimes. ALBANIA [6] abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. |
| 2001 | BOSNIA-HEZEGOVINA [7] abolished the death penalty for all crimes. CHILE abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. |
| 2002 | TURKEY abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. The FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA (now two states SERBIA and MONTENEGRO [9]) and CYPRUS abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 2003 | ARMENIA abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes |
| 2004 | BHUTAN, SAMOA, SENEGAL, and TURKEY abolished the death penalty for all crimes |
| 2005 | LIBERIA [8] and MEXICO abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 2006 | PHILIPPINES abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 2007 | ALBANIA and RWANDA abolished the death penalty for all crimes. KYRGYZSTAN abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. |
| 2008 | UZBEKISTAN, CHILE, and ARGENTINA abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 2009 | BURUNDI and TOGO abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 2010 | GABON removed the death penalty from its legislation. |
| 2012 | LATVIA abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 2013 | BOLIVIA abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 2015 | CONGO (Republic), FIJI, MADAGASCAR, and SURINAME abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 2016 | BENIN and NAURU abolished the death penalty for all crimes. GUINEA abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes. |
| 2017 | GUINEA abolished the death penalty for all crimes. KENYA abolished the mandatory death penalty for murder. |
| 2018 | BURKINA FASO abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 2020 | CHAD abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 2021 | KAZAKHSTAN and SIERRA LEONE abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
| 2022 | PAPUA NEW GUINEA, the CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, and ZAMBIA abolished the death penalty for all crimes. |
Notes:
1. In 1990 the German Democratic Republic became unified with the Federal Republic of Germany, where the death penalty had been abolished in 1949.
2. Slovenia and Croatia abolished the death penalty while they were still republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The two republics became independent in 1991.
3. In 1993 the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic divided into two states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
4. In 1997 Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule as a special administrative region of China. Amnesty International understands that Hong Kong will remain abolitionist.
5. In 1999 the Latvian parliament voted to ratify Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights, abolishing the death penalty for peacetime offenses.
6. In 2007 Albania ratified Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, abolishing the death penalty in all circumstances. In 2000 it had ratified Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights, abolishing the death penalty for peacetime offences.
7. In 2001 Bosnia-Herzegovina ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, abolishing the death penalty for all crimes.
8. In 2005 Liberia ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, abolishing the death penalty for all crimes.
9. Montenegro had already abolished the death penalty in 2002 when it was part of a state union with Serbia. It became an independent member state of the United Nations on 28 June 2006. Its ratification of Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, abolishing the death penalty in all circumstances, came into effect on 6 June 2006.