Use of death penalty worldwide

At one time the death penalty was used in almost every part of the globe; but over the last few decades many countries have abolished it. 83 countries still maintain the death penalty in both law and practice. 76 countries have abolished it completely; 15 retain it, but only for crimes committed in exceptional circumstances (such as crimes committed in time of war). 21 other countries maintain laws permitting the use of the death penalty for ordinary crimes, but have allowed the death penalty to fall into disuse. Finally, it is not unknown for countries to practise the death penalty sporadically or systematically outside their own formal legal frameworks (in the reported words of an old Bolshevik, "Oh, he wasn't executed, we just shot him").

The list is drawn from the Amnesty International website [1].

The following countries retain the death penalty as a legal form of punishment as of 2003.

The following countries retain the death penalty for common crimes, but they have not executed anyone in 10 years and Amnesty International classifies them as abolitionist in practice.

The following countries have abolished death penalty for common crimes, but it remains on the books for some crimes, such as crimes under military law or other special exceptional circumstances.

The following countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes: