55
countries have a legal death penalty
28
countries have made the death penalty illegal in practice
8
countries use the death penalty for exceptional crimes only
108
countries have made the death penalty illegal
All data is from Amnesty International’s 2021 report on the global status of the death penalty. Below, find Amnesty International’s definitions, and the language ProCon has used to conform to site standards, followed by a list of each country and the status of the death penalty therein.
Legal (Retentionist): “Countries that retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes.”
Illegal in Practice (Abolitionist in Practice): “Countries that retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes such as murder but can be considered abolitionist in practice in that they have not executed anyone during the last 10 years and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions.”
Exceptional Crimes Only (Abolitionist for Ordinary Crimes Only): “Countries whose laws provide for the death penalty only for exceptional crimes such as crimes under military law or crimes committed in exceptional circumstances.”
Illegal for All Crimes (Abolitionist for All Crimes): “Countries whose laws do not provide for the death penalty for any crime.”
Country | Status of Death Penalty |
---|---|
Afghanistan | legal |
Albania | illegal |
Algeria | illegal in practice |
Andorra | illegal |
Angola | illegal |
Antigua and Barbuda | legal |
Argentina | illegal |
Armenia | illegal |
Australia | illegal |
Austria | illegal |
Azerbaijan | illegal |
Bahamas | legal |
Bahrain | legal |
Bangladesh | legal |
Barbados | legal |
Belarus | legal |
Belgium | illegal |
Belize | legal |
Benin | illegal |
Bhutan | illegal |
Bolivia | illegal |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | illegal |
Botswana | legal |
Brazil | exceptional crimes only |
Brunei Darussalam | illegal in practice |
Bulgaria | illegal |
Burkina Faso | exceptional crimes only |
Burundi | illegal |
Cabo Verde | illegal |
Cambodia | illegal |
Cameroon | illegal in practice |
Canada | illegal |
Central African Republic | illegal in practice |
Chad | illegal |
Chile | exceptional crimes only |
China | legal |
Colombia | illegal |
Comoros | legal |
Congo (Republic of the) | illegal |
Cook Islands | illegal |
Costa Rica | illegal |
Côte d’Ivoire | illegal |
Croatia | illegal |
Cuba | legal |
Cyprus | illegal |
Czech Republic | illegal |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | legal |
Denmark | illegal |
Djibouti | illegal |
Dominica | legal |
Dominican Republic | illegal |
Ecuador | illegal |
Egypt | legal |
El Salvador | exceptional crimes only |
Equatorial Guinea | legal |
Eritrea | illegal in practice |
Estonia | illegal |
Eswatini (former Swaziland) | illegal in practice |
Ethiopia | legal |
Fiji | illegal |
Finland | illegal |
France | illegal |
Gabon | illegal |
Gambia | legal |
Georgia | illegal |
Germany | illegal |
Ghana | illegal in practice |
Greece | illegal |
Grenada | illegal in practice |
Guatemala | exceptional crimes only |
Guinea | illegal |
Guinea-Bissau | illegal |
Guyana | legal |
Haiti | illegal |
Honduras | illegal |
Hungary | illegal |
Iceland | illegal |
India | legal |
Indonesia | legal |
Iran | legal |
Iraq | legal |
Ireland | illegal |
Israel | exceptional crimes only |
Italy | illegal |
Jamaica | legal |
Japan | legal |
Jordan | legal |
Kazakhstan | exceptional crimes only |
Kenya | illegal in practice |
Kiribati | illegal |
Kosovo | illegal |
Kuwait | legal |
Kyrgyzstan | illegal |
Laos | illegal in practice |
Latvia | illegal |
Lebanon | legal |
Lesotho | legal |
Liberia | illegal in practice |
Libya | legal |
Liechtenstein | illegal |
Lithuania | illegal |
Luxembourg | illegal |
Madagascar | illegal |
Malawi | illegal in practice |
Malaysia | legal |
Maldives | illegal in practice |
Mali | illegal in practice |
Malta | illegal |
Marshall Islands | illegal |
Mauritania | illegal in practice |
Mauritius | illegal |
Mexico | illegal |
Micronesia | illegal |
Moldova | illegal |
Monaco | illegal |
Mongolia | illegal |
Montenegro | illegal |
Morocco/Western Sahara | illegal in practice |
Mozambique | illegal |
Myanmar | illegal in practice |
Namibia | illegal |
Nauru | illegal |
Nepal | illegal |
Netherlands | illegal |
New Zealand | illegal |
Nicaragua | illegal |
Niger | illegal in practice |
Nigeria | legal |
Niue | illegal |
North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) | legal |
North Macedonia | illegal |
Norway | illegal |
Oman | legal |
Pakistan | legal |
Palau | illegal |
Palestine (State of) | legal |
Panama | illegal |
Papua New Guinea | illegal in practice |
Paraguay | illegal |
Peru | exceptional crimes only |
Philippines | illegal |
Poland | illegal |
Portugal | illegal |
Qatar | legal |
Romania | illegal |
Russian Federation | illegal in practice |
Rwanda | illegal |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | legal |
Saint Lucia | legal |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | legal |
Samoa | illegal |
San Marino | illegal |
Sao Tome and Principe | illegal |
Saudi Arabia | legal |
Senegal | illegal |
Serbia | illegal |
Seychelles | illegal |
Sierra Leone | illegal in practice |
Singapore | legal |
Slovakia | illegal |
Slovenia | illegal |
Solomon Islands | illegal |
Somalia | legal |
South Africa | illegal |
South Korea (Republic of Korea) | illegal in practice |
South Sudan | legal |
Spain | illegal |
Sri Lanka | illegal in practice |
Sudan | legal |
Suriname | illegal |
Sweden | illegal |
Switzerland | illegal |
Syria | legal |
Taiwan | legal |
Tajikistan | illegal in practice |
Tanzania | illegal in practice |
Thailand | legal |
Timor-Leste | illegal |
Togo | illegal |
Tonga | illegal in practice |
Trinidad and Tobago | legal |
Tunisia | illegal in practice |
Turkey | illegal |
Turkmenistan | illegal |
Tuvalu | illegal |
Uganda | legal |
Ukraine | illegal |
United Arab Emirates | legal |
United Kingdom | illegal |
United States | legal |
Uruguay | illegal |
Uzbekistan | illegal |
Vanuatu | illegal |
Vatican City | illegal |
Venezuela | illegal |
Vietnam | legal |
Yemen | legal |
Zambia | illegal in practice |
Zimbabwe | legal |
Source: Amnesty International, “Death Sentences and Executions 2020,” amnesty.org, 2021