US Edition There were 2,390 executions in 2008, of which 1,718 or 72 per cent, took place in China. The statistics showed a marked increase from 2007 when 1,252 people were put to death.
Just five countries, China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United States, accounted for 93 per cent of all executions, Amnesty said. Iran executed eight children under 18 years old last year, in breach of international law.
The human rights group said its figures for China are a minimum estimate, since the number of people put to death is a state secret in the Middle Kingdom. Other activists estimate that anywhere from 6,000 to 15,000 people are put to death in China each year.
Despite China's efforts to improve its image ahead of the Beijing Olympics, Amnesty believes the Communist Party carried out four times as many executions last year as it did in 2007.
The jump reverses a steady fall in Chinese executions, particularly after the Chinese Supreme Court ruled that it would review all death sentences in January 2007. In the wake of the ruling, Ni Shouming, a spokesman for the court, said local authorities were reporting a 10 per cent fall in death sentences.
Many provinces have also changed their method of execution from firing squads to lethal injection, a move that Chinese officials say demonstrates a greater attention to human rights. Mobile "death vans" that drive from city to city are now in use in order to cut costs.
In Europe, only Belarus still has the death penalty. No countries wishing to join the European Union are permitted to carry out executions.