Of the top 10 countries with the most executions per year, 7 are Islamic and 2 are communist. The US is ranked 5th on this list
New report shows global death penalty use is shrinking Countries that use the death penalty are increasingly isolated following a decade of progress toward abolition, Amnesty International has said today (28 March), as it published its annual assessment of the global use of the death penalty. In its Death Sentences and Executions in 2010 report, Amnesty officially recorded 527 executions in 23 countries - down from at least 714 executions in 2009. However, these minimum figures do not take full account of China, where thousands are believed to be executed every year and where the authorities remain highly secretive about its use. In 2010, says Amnesty, capital punishment was carried out in the following countries: China (1,000s), Iran (252+), North Korea (60+), Yemen (53+), USA, (46), Saudi Arabia (27+), Libya (18+), Syria (17+), Bangladesh (9+), Somalia (8+), Sudan (6+), Palestinian Authority (5), Egypt (4), Equatorial Guinea (4), Taiwan (4), Belarus (2), Iraq (1+), Malaysia (1+), Bahrain (1), Singapore (unknown number) and Vietnam (unknown number).