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.