At least 579 people are known to have been put to death last year, according to Amnesty International’s annual review of the death penalty. However, the true number is likely far higher, as several countries do not publish accurate figures – including North Korea, Vietnam and Belarus. In China, where numbers remain a state secret, thousands of people are believed to be executed and sentenced to death each year.
As our chart shows, Iran comes second only after China with at least 314 people known to have been executed in 2021, up 28 percent from the year before when 246 were killed. The country has seen a crackdown on drugs, with 132 death penalties related to drug convictions in 2021 in comparison to only 30 cases that led to executions in 2020. Amnesty International notes that Saudi Arabia also saw a significant increase in death sentences since 2020, rising from 27 to 65 deaths, nine of whom were executed for terrorism-related crimes.
Where India, Qatar and Taiwan all made the executioners list in 2020, they were notable for not carrying out any death sentences in 2021. Meanwhile, Belarus, Japan and the UAE were all put back on the list after a short hiatus. In total, 55 countries still have the death penalty, 18 of which recorded executions in 2021. These include: Bangladesh (5), Belarus (1+), Botswana (3), China (+), Egypt (83+), Iran (314+), Iraq (17+), Japan (3), North Korea (+), Oman (+), Saudi Arabia (65), Somalia (21+), South Sudan (9+), Syria (24+), United Arab Emirates (1+), USA (11), Viet Nam (+), Yemen (14+).
In the U.S., 11 executions were recorded in 2021 across six jurisdictions. These were Alabama (1), Mississippi (1), Missouri (1), Oklahoma (2), Texas (3) and U.S. federal (3). Meanwhile, there were 18 death sentences recorded across seven states. These included: Alabama (4), California (3), Florida (2), Nebraska (1), Oklahoma (4), Tennessee (1) and Texas (3).
It is worth noting that while 2021 saw a 20 percent increase from the year before, both years represented the lowest number of executions since Amnesty International’s records began back in 2010. This lull is likely due to executions being put on hold because of the pandemic.
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