Annual executions recorded worldwide fell by almost a third in 2018 to the lowest figure in more than a decade, BBC reports, citing Amnesty International.
Some 690 people were executed in 20 countries last year, excluding China, a fall of 31% on 2017 - when 993 deaths were recorded.
Executions in Iran fell by 50% after capital punishment was abolished for some drug offences, Amnesty found.
Amnesty says thousands were probably killed in China but records are secret.
That would make it by far the leading executioner.
The next four nations are Iran, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Iraq. They account for about 77% of the 690.
Amnesty's review of the use of the death penalty, which was released on Wednesday, says that while the number of executions have fallen in some countries, several others have seen a rise, including the US, Japan, Singapore, South Sudan and Belarus.
"The dramatic global fall in executions proves that even the most unlikely countries are starting to change their ways and realise the death penalty is not the...
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