At least 1,634 people were executed in 25 countries in 2015, Amnesty International has reported.
This represents a stark increase on the number of executions recorded in 2014 of more than 50%; in 2014 Amnesty International recorded 1,061 executions in 22 countries worldwide.
This is the highest number of executions recorded in more than 25 years (since 1989).
Most executions took place in China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the USA – in that order.
China remained the world`s top executioner – but the true extent of the use of the death penalty in China is unknown as this data is considered a state secret; the figure of 1,634 excludes the thousands of executions believed to have been carried out in China.
Excluding China, almost 90% of all executions took place in just three countries – Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
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