Name: African nations abandoning death penalty
Uploaded: 2026-03-31T16:18:33.374Z
Duration: 1 min 24 s
Description: Countries in sub-Saharan Africa are sentencing fewer people to death. In 2023 Ghana abolished capital punishment, with Zimbabwe following suit in 2024. But many retain capital punishment as a legal option.

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa are sentencing fewer people to death. In 2023 Ghana abolished capital punishment, with Zimbabwe following suit in 2024. But many retain capital punishment as a legal option.

African countries have made notable progress in abolishing the death penalty, with Zimbabwe ending the practice in 2024 and Ghana passing a bill in 2023 to replace it with life imprisonment. Despite these advances, a report published in January 2026 indicates that at least 30 African nations still retain the death penalty in law, including Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria.

The frequency of executions varies widely, with Amnesty International reporting a rise in executions in Africa from 11 in 2022 to 38 in 2023, primarily due to Somalia. Globally, the highest number of executions in 2024 were recorded in China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.

African nations abandoning death penalty

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Breakdown