Israel's parliament, the Knesset, has passed a bill imposing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks in military courts.
Although the death penalty already exists in Israel, it was not enforced. The proposed bill changes that, putting Israel at odds with the general trend toward abolishing the death penalty.
According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, a total of 113 countries have completely abolished the death penalty.
There are also countries that have abolished it for ordinary crimes but can still impose it, for example, in the context of military justice. In other countries, a moratorium on the death penalty is in effect.
In 2024, based on Amnesty's latest annual report, more than 2,000 death sentences were handed down in 46 countries. There are significant regional differences: In Europe and Central Asia, only Belarus imposed the death penalty — and even then, in just one case. In North and South America, it was only the United States, which imposed 26 death penalties, and Trinidad and Tobago, which imposed one.
Most death sentences in the Asia-Pacific region
In sub-Saharan Africa, the death penalty was imposed several hundred times across a total of 14 countries. In the Middle East and North Africa, the number was nearly 800, spread across nine countries.Nigeria, with more than 180, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with over 125, handed down by far the highest number of death sentences.
The Asia-Pacific region had the highest total number of death sentences with well over 800. Three-digit figures were recorded in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam. In most cases, the exact numbers can't be determined. Some countries provide no figures at all, including Afghanistan, China and North Korea.
The total number of recorded death sentences in 2024 has decreased from around 2,400 in the previous year to just under 2,100. Overall, the number fluctuated around 2,000 during the ten-year period from 2014 to 2024 — with a peak of around 3,100 in 2016 and a low of just under 1,500 in 2020.
Death sentences do not always mean execution
However, death sentences do not always conclude with an execution, since they are not always carried out. At the same time, executions may be carried out that were ordered long ago. This accounts for the sometimes significant difference between the number of death sentences and the number of executions.
According to the organization Iran Human Rights (IHR), at least 1,500 people were executed in Iran in 2025 — the highest number in 35 years, according to the organization.
The number of executions was also high in Saudi Arabia, where the United Nations say at least 356 poeple were executed in 2025.
In the US, the United Nations reported 47 executions in 2025, the highest number in 16 years.
A look at the last 10 years reveals that the number of death sentences and the number of executions actually carried out have followed very different trends. According to Amnesty International data, the number of death sentences has fluctuated significantly up and down for years and saw a decline in 2024 compared to the previous year. A reversal of this trend can be observed in the number of executions carried out. After peaking at 1,634 executions in 2015, the number declined each subsequent year until reaching a low of 483 executions in 2020.
However, since 2020, there has been a year-over-year increase every year. The number rose from 483 executions to 1,518 in 2024. In just five years, that figure has more than tripled and is now just shy of the 2015 peak.
When the Amnesty report for 2025 is released, the figures will likely be significantly higher, based on data from other organizations indicating that at least 1,500 people were executed in Iran alone in 2025.
Fewer countries issue death sentences but more executions
Overall, it can be noted that while the number of countries imposing the death penalty is declining, the number of executions carried out is steadily increasing. Thus, a small number of countries are executing large numbers of people. According to Amnesty International, China ranked first in 2024 with thousands of people executed. The figures for China are estimates, as they are kept under wraps by the Chinese government.
Iran ranked second with at least 972 executions, and Saudi Arabia ranked third with at least 345. In other countries, the number of executions is in the double or single digits. No figures are available for Afghanistan, North Korea, Syria and Vietnam. They impose death sentences, but the extent of executions is unclear.
It is currently impossible to predict whether the number of executions will continue to rise in 2026. But a look at Iran alone and the regime's crackdown on protesters there suggests that the numbers there will not decline. And in most other countries that carry out executions, there are currently no signs of a letup.
This article was originally published in German on Monday, March 30, 2026, and was updated on the evening of March 30.
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