China has remained the worlds top executioner amid a decline in global executions, Amnesty International's annual report on capital punishment said.
Besides China, 84 per cent of all reported executions took place in just four countries -- Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan.
"The progress in sub-Saharan Africa reinforced its position as a beacon of hope for abolition... It is high time that the rest of the world follows their lead and consigns this abhorrent punishment to the history books," said Amnesty's Secretary General Salil Shetty.