At least 778 executions were carried out across the world in 2013, according to figures out today from Amnesty International. See how the data breaks down by country

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At least 778 executions were carried out in 2013 - up from at least 682 in 2012 - according to the latest global report from Amnesty International.

The report documents executions in 22 countries in 2013, a rise on the previous year when executions were recorded in 21 countries worldwide. The countries with the highest number of executions were China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, USA and Somalia.

According to Amnesty International, China executed more people than the rest of the world put together- but as data on the use of the death penalty is considered a state secret, no exact numbers are recorded in the report. They state that the 778 figure does not include the thousands of executions carried out in China.

Excluding China, the report says:

At least 778 people were executed in 22 countries in 2013. In 2012, Amnesty International reported at least 682 executions in 21 countries worldwide. At least 1,925 death sentences were recorded in 57 countries in 2013, an increase from the 2012 figure of 1,722 in 58 countries. 23,392 people are thought to have been on death row at the end of 2013.

The latest data shows a stark rise in the number of executions carried out in Iran and Iraq. Iraq saw a 30% increase in the number of people put to death, rising from 129 in 2012 to 169 in 2013. Although official figures for Iran report 369 executions (up from 314 in 2012) Amnesty state that credible sources report at least 335 additional executions, bringing the total to at least 704.

Of the 638 confirmed executions in the region, three countries- Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia- accounted for 95% of them. It could not be confirmed if executions took place in Egypt or Syria.

In Africa, at least 64 executions are known to have been carried out in five countries, more than a 50% rise from 2012. Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan accounted for more than 90% of the total in Africa, with Nigeria carrying out executions for the first time in eight years. The same three countries also handed down more two-thirds of all of the death penalties in the region.

The USA is the only country in the Americas to have carried out executions in 2013, with 41% taking place in Texas alone.



In Central and Southern America and the Caribbean, a total of 15 death sentences were recorded in four countries- Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana Barbados and the Bahamas. Otherwise the regions were death penalty-free in 2013.



Europe remained execution-free in 2013, although Belarus, the only country in the region still to impose capital punishment, sentenced four people to death.



In 2013, four countries that had not used the death penalty for long periods carried out executions: Indonesia (first execution in four years), Kuwait (first execution in six years), Nigeria (first execution in seven years) and Vietnam (first executions in 18 months).

Three countries that executed in 2012 did not carry out any executions in 2013 –Gambia, Pakistan and United Arab Emirates.



10 countries with the most executions, 2013



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