While China stands top of the death penalty list, the actual data relating to China is likely to be an underestimate for executions are not officially reported. Outside of China, the report indicates, that the other “leading” nations for executions are: Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. Of these, fastest growth was with Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, with a slowdown with the U.S.
Considering these in more detail, Iran executed 977 people last year. This represented a 31 percent increase on 2014. The majority of these state sanctioned killings were for drug-related offences, with four of those killed being under 18 (Iran is one of few countries that allows for the execution of minors.) While the crimes, for which executions are deemed to be the ultimate punishment, vary, the reasons given for the executions are invariably punishments for “enmity against God” and “spreading corruption on Earth.”
In Pakistan, meanwhile, more than 320 people were executed, and at least five were reported to be children. In addition, the country has the most number of people on death row. Quoted by Buzzfeed, Amnesty International’s secretary general, Salil Shetty, commented on the overall figures: “The rise in executions last year is profoundly disturbing. Not for the last 25 years have so many people been put to death by states around the world. Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have all put people to death at unprecedented levels, often after grossly unfair trials. This slaughter must end.”
In terms of trends in relation to the death penalty, Chad has reintroduced the death penalty after 10 years without it; and Republic of Congo, Fiji, Madagascar, and Suriname have abolished state executions. Two thirds of the world’s nations do not have the death penalty.
