Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has released the number of executions recorded worldwide in 2016. According to this report, these are the top 10 countries with the highest death penalty in 2016.
*The data for several countries are not available as some of them are prone to secret executions.
China comes in first on this list. With over more than thousand state-sponsored executions and many more secret killings, China retains its top spot.
With more than 557 state sponsored execution, Iran comes in the second place. Quick Fact: Majority of the death sentences are pronounced for the drug-related offense.
Iran is followed by another Muslim nation. Saudi Arabia reportedly conducted more than 154 state sponsored executions.
Another country from the Middle-East makes it to the list. This time its Republic of Iraq. Iraq is said to have executed at least 88 people. This is a significant increase from the last year.
India's neighbor Pakistan comes in the fifth place. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has reportedly executed at least 87 people in 2016. However, this is a significant decrease from its earlier numbers.
The North African nation, Egypt comes in the sixth spot with at least 44 executions in 2016. Notably, Egypt is the first African country in this list.
The United States of America is said to be the seventh highest executioner in the world. In 2016, USA is said to have executed twenty of its prisoners
The Federal Republic of Somalia comes in the eighth spot. According to Amnesty, Somalia has killed fourteen of its prisoners.
The list also has another Indian neighbor - Bangladesh. Bangladesh is said to have executed ten of its prisoners.
With over nine state-sponsored executions, Malaysia occupies the bottom spot of this list.