China, number one far ahead, goes under the radar of statistics failing to publish the
slightest figure. Behind China, Iran, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia practice the death penalty without moderation, according to Amnesty International. It is also well known that Vietnam, North Korea and Syria follow this practice without moderation but it is practically impossible even to estimate its number."
Apr. 21 (DP.net).– Amnesty International recorded at least 657 executions in 20 countries worldwide in 2019. The total —one of the smallest since Amnesty began tracking executions in 1979— was a 5% decrease from the at least 690 executions recorded in 2018 and was down 60% from the 25-year-high total of 1,634 reported executions in 2015.
Those numbers exclude China which treats data on the death penalty as a state secret, but it is well known that even non-violent white-collar crimes such as embezzlement and fraud may also warrant an execution in China. Not counting the political cases. However, many more than 1,000 executions were estimated in that country in 2019, followed by Iran (251), Saudi Arabia (184), Iraq (100+), Egypt (32+) and USA (22). The + sign means that the numbers shown are only those confirmed but more were reported.
In certain countries of Southeast Asia, "information on imminent executions or executions that have already taken place is not publicly available," pointed out the UN Human Rights Office's representative for the region, Cynthia Veliko, in her statement of 26 October 2017. It is also known that in Iran and South Sudan minors have been executed, contravening the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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